


Feathers and Jewels

by Wordpainter15



Series: WordPainter's Owlets [6]
Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blight's A+ reputation, Blind!Viney, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, Flying Derby is said made up sport, Half the story is failed flirting, It's basically flying horse cross-country, Meet-Ugly, No Magic AU, Not Beta Read, Only Odalia is absolutely toxic, Para-sports, Part I Don't Need Eyes, Part Jackals Ladder, Puddles the Griffin, Rich/Partygirl!Emira, Swearing, i am my own beta, made up sport, medium slow burn?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:13:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26637889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wordpainter15/pseuds/Wordpainter15
Summary: An incident at the stables and the twins' party lifestyle gets them topped into riding lessons by their fed up father. Not the way Emira wanted to spend her summer at all, but she's hoping the stable girl can make it better.Viney is still mad about the incident at the stables.Urban Fantasy AU with blind para rider Viney and party girl Em. Summer romance, medium burn, and looming Blight parentsUpdates Saturdays (unless my writing block is very bad)
Relationships: Boscha/Willow Park, Emira Blight/Viney, Minor or Background Relationship(s), TBA relationship
Series: WordPainter's Owlets [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1921702
Comments: 94
Kudos: 235





	1. Big Reputation

**Author's Note:**

> So much of this is inspired by music so that's the chapter naming theme. Idc what you guys say of my music taste

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Big reputation, big reputation  
> Ooh you and me we got big reputations, ah  
> And you heard about me, oh  
> I got some big enemies  
> Big reputation, big reputation  
> Ooh you and me would be a big conversation
> 
> -End Game, Taylor Swift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dropping this as motivation to get me through the beginning exposition because the fun stuff to write is chapters away (TvT) Don't expect a new update anytime soon. Chapter 2 isn't finished and I want to get through probably chapter 4 or 5 before I start dedicating myself to an update schedule. Also, I have two exams in a week on the exact same day, one right after another, and need to pass them with B's to not feel like a failure 
> 
> BTW, look who already had to go from 21 to 22 chapters bc she didn't plan the outline right...

Emira Blight does not like summer. At least not this part of it. When the humidity is making each breath drag through her lungs like soup and the heat making her hair stick to the nape of her sweaty neck. She doesn’t like being dragged on these ‘family excursions’, and she would rather be anywhere than at the _derby_ stadium with only her siblings for company. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the derby stadium- it’s large and impressive and exactly what Emira expects her father to pump hundreds of thousands of snails into as part of some business deal she didn’t pay attention to when it was explained to her. But derby is only exciting in the prime of its season- a season that won’t start for another few weeks. The manager is walking around like a boastful rooster, cheerfully clucking on about the lineage of the griffins and hippogriffs that are led by. Their jockeys shake hands with her father and greet the rest of them before, very obviously, scurrying off.

Emira doesn’t blame them. Nothing drives people away like the last name Blight.

Her little sister fakes her interest the best, taking pictures of the lofty wooden arches and the sky high hoops that wind across the massive derby track in curving paths. Amity flicks through the photographs she took, fingers flying across her phone screen as she sends the messages on their way. Edric doesn’t care for architecture. His gold eyes are lazily staring off into space because they are too old to get away with tapping away at phone screens. The siblings slowly follow after the derby’s manager, a pace behind their parents as they are supposed to be.

Ed nudges his twin and motions his head at the glass wall where a group of students is practicing drills on their hippogriffs. The two twins stop to watch and glare at Amity when she bumps into them. The teenager returns the gesture and redirects around them, clutching her vibrating phone.

“You two are terrible.”

“Hey, what’s wrong with watching, Mittens?” Emira drawls and her arm strikes out to catch Amity around the neck. She pulls her younger sister to her body and ignores the choked sounds.

“If we’re gonna be stuck here all day, we might as well pick up a few cute girls while we’re here,” Edric adds with a smirk and chortles when Amity strengthens her glare. “Or boys…”

“I bet the stable boys are ripped,” Emira agrees and laughs at Amity’s disgusted face. “Aw, are we corrupting the little princess?”

“Children!”

Edric groans and Emira barely holds her own in as their father’s booming voice echo off the walls of the open corridor. Emira releases her sister quickly and all three Blight siblings straighten their stances as their parents circle back to them like watchful hawks. Amity glares at them from the corner of her eye and purses her lips as she slips her phone into her bag. 

Alador and Odalia Blight hold their bodies stiff and firm. Their tour guide stands off to the side, twiddling with his fingers as the two business moguls stare down their heirs. Emira sees Amity’s hands twist nervously behind her back. Ed’s eyes meet hers for a second and they both step forward into the looming shadow cast by their parents due to the rising overhead sun spearing through the columns of the outdoor corridor.

“Our fault,” Ed starts and Emira hums in agreement.

“Completely. We were just looking at the hippogriff class,” Emira continues and bends playfully at her waist, blocking Amity from their scathing view. “Mittens here was just telling us to keep up.”

“Oh!” the manager shouts happily and walks past the Blight family to stand before the glass window. He waves toward the class with a flourish. “Taken interest in our youth studies, have you?”

No, they haven’t, but Ed and Em keep up the act with smiles. They’re very good at acting, all their acting instructors say so. Both twins approach the window and stare into the arena full of hippogriffs and their riders. Most of them appeared to be the twins' age, just out of their teen years. One of the hippogriffs has a speckled brown coat and is rearing onto its hind legs, its rider clenching tightly to the reins and trying to stay in the saddle. The manager coughs to draw their attention away and swallows away his embarrassed flush.

“Ah, excuse this poor display. They are a beginner hippogriff class and I’m sure you know that hippogriffs are much more difficult to handle than griffins.”

Alador grunts in agreement and the Blight siblings nod along with him even though they have no interest in their father’s favorite side investment. Nor do they know anything about the animals that compete in them beyond the names of the species. 

“If you are interested, young miss, I’m sure we can arrange some lessons for you and your siblings. We have the best trainers around, I assure you. Like my father always told me, there’s nothing more achieving than mastering riding- teaches grit and discipline,” the manager continues to babble on and Emira is already zoning out.

Edric claps his hands together, interrupting the man’s unending drivel with a harsh smack of skin. “Hey, you know, our Mittens here loves animals. Anyway, we could sneak a look at the stables?”

“I- We were heading to the History Hall next-” the man stutters and flinches when Emira smiles and also claps her hands, copying her brother’s stance.

“I mean, you could meet us there after, right? I heard you say it’s right around here?” Emira asks sweetly and bares the tips of her fangs into her smile. “I’m sure we can find it by ourselves and meet up with you adults later.”

“Ah- well, if you insist…”

“Great,” Edric exclaims and throws arms over both of his siblings. “We’ll meet up with you later!” he shouts as he steers his sisters through the exit that leads toward the inner part of the derby grounds. “This way, right?”

The three siblings scurry away before they get an answer. Once they’re out of sight, Emira and Amity throw Edric’s arms off their shoulders. Amity straightens her hair, running her fingers through it with one hand and taking her phone back out with the others. Emira fixes the collar of her shirt and leans over her sister’s shoulder.

“What are you even doing on that thing?”

“Nothing!” Amity hisses and hides her screen by pressing it against her chest. “What was that anyway?”

“Well geez, sorry, nerd,” Edric said as he pulled out his own phone. “Didn’t know you wanted to listen to the entire history of flying derby.”

“Well, now one of us has to stay by the stables or else we’re going to get caught, nitwit,” Amity continues.

“Yeah, and it’s going to be you. All you’re doing is texting your friends- you can do that at the stables,” Edric states as he and Emira start to walk off.

“And what are you two going to do?”

“Look for some cute people,” Emira shouts over her shoulder with a smirk.

Amity Blight rolls her eyes and starts looking for somebody to direct her toward the stables. She wants no part in the twins’ mischief and Amity's certainty that they will cause some is the same as her belief that the sun will rise tomorrow morning. 

…

Edric and Emira haven’t found another soul their age and they’ve been walking around aimlessly _forever_. The twins plop themselves against the fence of… wherever they are. Some sort of practice arena. The obstacles are plain, just brightly colored poles stretching toward the sky and some hoops are set up. A large wooden wall serves as the steeple, a single piece of fabric tied around the pole serving as the flag, and a muddy water pit that needed to be refilled.

The twins look up at the sound of flapping wings and latch their eyes on the pounding breaststrokes of a young griffin and its rider. The breast shakes out its wings as it lands onto the starting platform and the buzz of fans startup. Air harshly whizzes through the vents below the platform, providing the griffin with the starting lift it will need for takeoff. The griffin’s rider, dressed in the orange of Griffins’ Sweep's signature colors, is semi-visible behind the pumping wings of her mount. A buzz sounds through the sound system and the griffin dives off the platform, spreading wings and bursting forward using the lift provided by the fans.

Emira watches as the griffin soars around the large poles, weaving through them with practiced ease like an agility dog. It twirls through the first hoop, curling up in its flight to loop upside down through the next one placed a good ten feet above. With a slanted body, wings split out diagonally, the griffin slips through the airway compressed by large gates. It does another twirl once free of the cramped space, playfully fluttering its fluffy wings between forceful flaps. The wall is next, infamous for being where mounts disobey as their wings give out from the vertical climb. Emira watches as the rider presses closer to the griffin, legs clasping its side in a rather reckless hold. The griffin dives toward the ground, muscles shaking under the exertion of the force, and kicks off the dirt with a mighty jump. Large wings soar, extend to their full height above the body before they beat the air down and lift the duo up.

“Not gonna make it,” Ed said surely as he leans against the fence.

“Bet. If they make it, I call dibs,” Emira answers back coyly and flings her hair out of her face. 

“Who says they swing your way?”

“ _Everyone_ swings my way,” Emira responds teasingly and looks back to the griffin.

The two watch the griffin top the wall, the flag getting snatched into its beak. Emira casts a smug look at her brother and smiles when he rolls his eyes and looks away from her.

“I win!” Em sing sings with a smug grin. 

Emira waves as the rider zooms past them to the next set of poles. Her brow furrows when she’s ignored. As the griffin loops back towards them on the way to the hoops, Em whistles shrilly at the rider speeding past her and waves, trying to get the rider’s attention. 

The twins pale as the rider jerks and twists violently toward the sound. The griffin sways under her weight change and clips a hind paw on one of the hoops, wings stopping their flapping in shock. Its shrieks merge with the rider that slipped off its back, piercing sounds that break through the monotonous whirl of the fan and music playing through the arena. The griffin grips at its falling rider, front limbs grabbing the back of the rider's uniform and a flailing arm. The duo struggles toward the ground- griffin forcing its head back as shaky wings soften the descent. 

Emira and Edric jump the wooden fence separating the spectators from the arena. Both twins jump back at the massive caw that the griffin spits at them. The rider crawls out from underneath the three hundred pound creature and gets up onto her feet, gripping her arm.

“Are you okay? I didn't think you’d spin out,” Emira rushes out as she tries to approach the girl and takes a step back as the griffin caws at her.

“What are you doing back here?” the rider hisses as she wobbles against her griffin, catching her breath. “No one’s supposed to be back here! Do you understand how _dangerous_ that was?”

“It was an accident,” Edric tries to come to his sister’s defense. “And aren’t you supposed to be clipped to your griffin?”

“If I was _ten_ and weighed _sixty pounds_!” the girl growls at Ed and she rubs at her bruising arm through the ripped fabric. “Clipping yourself to your griffin just means less mobility, slow speeds, and a death plummet because you’ll twist it underwings up. Why the hell are you two idiots even back here?”

“We were just looking around. No need to get pissy with us because you freaked out on your griffin,” Emira snarls back and isn’t afraid to let her fangs show. “You don’t get to bitch at us because you got stage fright. Some rider you’ll be if you can’t handle a single whistle. What are you going to do in an _actual_ arena.”

“In an actual arena I know what’s going on,” the rider bites back as she smoothes her griffin’s ruffled feathers. “Two people don’t just pop up out of nowhere-”

“We were literally here the entire time,” Emira interrupts with an eye roll. “I don’t know how you couldn’t notice the only people in the entire stands.”

“Maybe because I can’t _see_ b-”

“Viney? Viney!” a new voice gasps out and the girl’s pointed ears twitch as the two Blights turn to watch the newcomer come running down the stairs from the watchtower with a panicked face. “I saw you spin out and I think you lost your com on the way down.”

“I lost-'' Viney mutters and feels at the emptiness in her ear. Dang it. She did lose it. “Puddles, find the com could ya?” She gives the griffin a pet when it cooes in agreement and starts pecking at the dirt. Hopefully, it’s not broken; Viney does not want to lose a hundred dollars from her paycheck to replace it.

“Are you okay?” the guy asks again and starts inspecting the arm Viney is cradling to her body. “Well, I’m no nurse, but you aren’t bleeding.”

“It’ll just be a bad bruise, Jerbo. Don’t worry ‘bout it,” Viney reassures with a pat to the guy’s hand before her lips curl up into a snarl. “Because these two idiots _whistled_ -”

“Viney!” the boy, Jerbo, hisses and throws a hand over her mouth. “I’m so sorry about her. If she said anything rude, she didn’t mean it.”

“Of course I ducking meant it,” Viney counters around the hand muffling her mouth.

“Viney, shut up! It’s the _Blight_ twins. You’ll get fired,” Jerbo whispers fervently into the girl’s ear. “She’s sorry. Viney’s blind and we use whistles to tell her if she’s about to crash. You just got her confused.”

“Blind?” Emira echoes and takes a look at the girl’s face. 

She supposes it’s true that the rider isn’t looking directly at their faces, more at their necklines. Green eyes blink, hiding behind the rider’s eyelids, and a loose lock of her brown hair has fallen out from beneath the riding helmet to curl along the girl’s cheek. The summer heat is pulling freckles to the surface of the rider’s pale skin. Her mouth is still twisted into a snarl, scrunching up her nose in a rather adorable way. Emira smiles to herself, the rider looks like an upset kitten. A really cute upset kitten with a set of claws to match.

“How can you ride if you’re blind?” Edric asks and Emira throws her head back with a groan.

“Ed, you’re a fucking idiot.”

“What’d I do?” Edric exclaims. “I’m curious.”

“Edric! Emira!” Alador Blight’s booming voice slices through the tension and the twins stiffen at the sound. 

His mouth is set into a firm line, his wife tightly grips her handbag with a matching glare on her face. Amity is peeking around them and frantically waves her phone at them with wide eyes. Em flicks her wrist where her smartwatch is and notices the many missed texts. Amity trying to warn then. Well, shit.

“Viney! What are you doing here?” the manager spurts out and rushes to his two employees. “I told everyone to be on their best behavior today. We have guests! I sincerely apologize, Viney typically spends her breaks practicing on the practice arena. You!” The manager points at Jerbo. “You’re not scheduled today!”

Jerbo lets out a pathetic whine and Viney takes hold of his hand. Emira rolls her eyes when Viney lets him shuffle behind her. Pretty girls are wasted on guys like that. The kid doesn’t have enough balls to stand up for himself?

“My fault,” Viney states as she let’s go of the shaking teen’s hand. “I wanted to try to beat my time and asked Jerbo to be my spotter. You know, because I’m not supposed to fly without one.”

“I know your… _disability_ prevents you, but he is still not meant to be here. Jerbo, go home. Viney, back to work,” the manager pauses when the griffin, Puddles, nudges a destroyed communication bud into Viney’s hand. “And I’ll take that out of your paycheck.”

“Yes, sir,” Viney mutters submissively and grips her griffin’s reins in one hand. “Back to the stables, girl.”

The griffin coos and starts forward, nudging its wing into Viney’s hand and the rider releases the reins in favor of gently gripping the offered wing. Jerbo glances back at the Blights with a clammy face and pale cheeks. The boy looks ready to pee himself. It’s as funny as it is pathetic- it’s not like he’s going to be executed. Emira drops her stare and focuses on her nails instead, picking at the chipping polish she needs redone and watching the griffin girl leave out of the corner of her eye.

“What did you two do?” Alador asks lowly after the manager dismisses Jerbo and is profusely apologizing to Em’s mother, not that Odalia seems entertained in the slightest.

“It was a mistake. I didn’t _know_ she was blind. I whistled and she got tripped up; how was I supposed to know?” Emira counters back and ignores Amity’s wide-eyed look and frantic hand motions. Emira crosses her arms more at her sister than her father. No, she’s not rolling over- it’s not like she meant it. Emira’s a Blight, if she really wanted to screw the rider over, she would.

“It’s a dishonor to the Blight name. You have a reputation to uphold and you waste it on childish pranks and fake excuses,” Alador scolds them and glances up when Odalia and Amity start moving on to the next part of the tour. “You two are Blights. Start acting like it or I’ll figure out a way to make you learn some discipline.”

“Yes, Father,” the two twins chant in sync and roll their eyes when the man turns away to follow after his wife.

“Reputation this, reputation that,” Edric mocks in a whisper as they follow after the group a few paces back. “We’re not royalty. Besides, people love to hear about us acting out- twin heirs caught high in a college mixer!” Edric’s voice pitches in fake woe and his hands spread across the open air, pressing an invisible headline into the empty space.

“The life of socialites. Everyone’s in your damn business all the time because your parents own a few restaurants and one amusement park. I don’t get it,” Emira muses and smiles at her twin, “Why do they even mention you at all? You’re too ugly for people to care about. Everyone knows I got the better genes.”

“You’re such a brat,” Ed jokes as Emira pushes past him.

“And I still get more dates than you.”

The twins slump when their mother’s shrill voice yells at them to keep up. They dash forward, Emira ducking out of reach when she sees Edric reaching for her braid. Amity hisses at them to grow up and stumbles when Ed sweeps a foot in front of her walking space. A giggle bursts out of Em’s lips and they move on with the boring tour of Griffins’ Sweep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ed and Em are pan- like they are in the other stories too, but it never shows up. It was nice meeting you Viney. You don't show up again until chapter 3. 
> 
> The majority of the beginning is from Em's "point of view" because she's the one with the major character arc (also because I like digging apart the psyche of things I don't personally experience and see what messes them up). Viney gets one too, but her's is later and does not require as much set up.
> 
> Changing up personalities a wee bit. Emira and Edric are both 20 in this one and basically party crazy college kids who grew up rich and getting away w/everything bc they're Blights. Viney's been legally blind for the majority of her life and does not let people walk all over here because of it.  
> Different settings=different personalities, but I'm obviously trying to keep them in character. Twins still love pranks and protect Amity. Amity is still obsessed with being perfect. Viney still takes no crap and is a leader, she's just more... vocal about it because she knows whose she dealing with this time. Low key, if Viney knew who Em was in Illusory and Reveire she would've acted way different


	2. Brittle Crown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fat stacks, cold cash  
> You've always had it real lavish, first-class  
> Trust fund, gold tongue  
> Eighty grand in both your hands, but no love
> 
> -Affluenza, Conan Gray

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this isn't what wild parties are like I'm sorry. I'm an introvert who doesn't like them and only sees them on TV
> 
> I can't make up my mind about something so I stuck my writer's dilemma in the end notes. Advice is appreciated

The flash of Emira’s camera lights up the darkness of the car and the young woman ignores Amity’s hiss. She shifts in the car seat and meddles with her hair in the mirror. Another bright light.

“I’ll fucking crash this car if you keep doing that,” Amity seethes as she grips the wheel of her car in a vice grip.

“Relax, Mittens,” Emira responds as she scrolls through the photos and pokes her head into the backseat where Edric and one of his friends are blaring music through a speaker. “Hey Ed, which one?”

“I should never have agreed to this,” Amity grumbles to herself as she pulls over in front of a large house crawling with young adults. The youngest Blight’s face gets lit up by the colorful lights flashing from the house. “Be careful.”

“You can come with,” Em offers as the car doors swing open and Edric and his friend slip out of the car. 

“No way. Call me when you want to get home- don’t carpool with anyone. They’ll probably be just as drunk as you,” Amity demands as Emira gets out of her baby sister’s car. “Be able to walk when I get you!”

“Don’t worry so much, kiddo,” Edric shouts across the lawn as he makes his way to the house. “We’ll be fine.”

“One day I’m going to find you blacked out and have to watch them shove charcoal down your throat to make you throw up. When that happens, remember I warned you,” Amity yells at the twins as she shifts the gear of her car and rolls up her windows. 

Emira waves her sister’s concern off and jogs to catch up to where Edric is waiting for her most of the way up the driveway. The two siblings wave goodbye as Amity’s car lights circle around the road and off onto a different street. Ed nudges his sister and the group of three enter the house. Amity didn’t have to worry so much- her siblings weren’t complete idiots no matter what the younger Blight insists. They have systems for these things. They swear by their buddy system- find your twin the moment you start feeling buzzed because the last thing they need is for someone to sell a picture of one of them drunk off their asses to the gossip papers. Edric flings the door open, laughs when somebody curses at them, and the Blight twins plow into the full house.

The bright lights are blurring in Emira’s vision and she falls against Edric, causing the contents of their red plastic cups to slosh over the rim. One arm loops around her brother and the other around some guy she found while she was there. He’s cute enough to have some fun with. Sloppy kisses across the face and neck. Never further because Emira isn’t stupid and knows about STD’s and also because her mother would murder her if any escapades got to a news reporter. The girl really wished people would mind their own business and keep their noses out of hers. Maybe she could actually have some fun for once if they did. Either way, no rando is worth that; it doesn’t matter how cute they are. It’s just a warm body to press against her side while she lets the buzz take over her senses for a while. Something to counteract the numbness and remind her that her skin can still feel touch. 

Edric glares at the dude clutching her waist, ever the protective brother, and her temporary companion raises his hands and takes a step back.

“Ain’t getting any farther, bud,” Ed states as Emira throws her long hair over her shoulder.

She should’ve tied it into a braid or at least pulled it back into a ponytail. The thick mane is getting everywhere.

“Eh, too bad. It’s been fun, Blight.”

Emira accepts the kiss to her cheek even if the stubble is uncomfortable. She waves goodbye with a tipsy little smile because she does not remember the guy’s name and chugs the rest of her beer. 

“He do anything?” Ed asks as they plop onto a couch and Emira throws the empty cup on the table. 

“I’m not that drunk, Ed, but I _am_ getting there. Hence, why I was a good girl and came to find _you_ ,” Emira points out as she plays with the screen of her watch. “You have any fun?”

“Kissed a few cute girls and this guy with like, the baggy surfer bangs,” Edric answers as he pulls his vibrating phone out.

“He have dimples?” Em asks as she peers over to look at his screen, only to hear her own phone start to buzz. She scrolls through the incoming messages as Ed nods in her peripheral vision. “You and the dimples… Freckles are better,” Em insists and gold eyes roll as her phone buzzes again. “Ugh, it’s Mittens. Your friend need a ride?”

“He left like an hour ago with some service because his girlfriend is flying in for the summer,” Edric answers as he scrolls through his Pentsagram page. “We got a good forty minutes before Amity drags us back… dare you to do a few shots with me.”

“Do you even need to ask?”

Emira is giggling as her sister drags her through the house. Her voice pitches into a shriek that Amity frantically tries to shush. Ed isn’t much better. He ran himself into a table and broke a vase just moments before. Pieces of porcelain scattering the light of the dimly lit hallways. Amity Blight is trying her best to get them to their rooms before their father notices. Dragging their arms and pulling their dead weight like a child dragging her toys around. She ignores the sound of them thumping into each other and the break out of laughter it causes. Amity fumbles with the door to Emira’s room, trying to open its sticky lock as one of her siblings drops against her and makes obnoxious noises in her ear. The door slams open and Amity stumbles through it.

“Now get your drunk asses in there,” Amity hisses as she shoves the sibling on her into the room. Edric stumbles and flops onto the bean bag that Emira keeps on the floor. “Em! Hurry up before we get caught!”

“Amity Blight, what is going on?”

Amity stiffens as her mother’s shrill voice cuts through the hallway and she immediately straightens up as the lady rounded the corner into the hall. Odalia Blight’s eyes seemed to glow in the low lighting, contrasting with the pale skin of her fast that seemed a muddy gray in the low light.

“Mother!” Amity frantically greets, her hands flaring out before curling up and joining behind her back. “I was just-”

“Are those two _drunk_?” Odalia hisses as she comes to a stop before a bleary Emira and the woman’s lips twist into a sneer when she sees Edric passed out on the bean bag. “What did you do, Amity?”

“I- Nothing!” Amity insists and forces her eyes to look at her mother’s scathing stare. “They were invited to a party and I said I’d drive them-”

“You encouraged this!”

“I j-just,” Amity stutters out around her fumbling tongue. “I thought it’d be safer…”

“You should’ve told us and never let them go. Imagine what could’ve happened, Amity. What would people say about them? What could people have _done_? Should I spell it out for you?” Odalia asks and her youngest daughter looks down at the floor.

“Stop yelling at her,” Emira hiccups out as she stumbles her way between a trembling Amity and their mother. “Nothing happened. Nothing ever happens- we aren’t stupid.”

Em’s grateful for taking those last shots because she's running on nothing but liquid courage and bad impulses. The buzz is a tickling static through her body, letting a wobbly grin take over her face as she stared at her mother. The buzz in her brain muffles her mother's annoying screeching. Does the woman never sleep just so she can catch them in the act?

“You could’ve fooled me. Wasting away your youth like this. We’ll finish this conversation tomorrow when you’ve sobered up. Amity, to your room,” Odalia commands and Amity nods with a jerk. “And don’t do any more favors for them. You’re enabling them.”

“We’re not fucking dogs and the kid’s not doing anything,” Emira hisses. “Why do you always got to-”

“I’d stop talking and go to bed if I were you,” Odalia interrupts and gestures to the open bedroom door. “And don’t leave that room until we tell you to.”

“Fine,” Em growls as she stomps into the room and slams the door shut. 

She trips over her brother’s outstretched leg and curses when the corner of her bedframe jams into her thigh. The girl tears her shirt off over her head, skin puckering as the ac catches hold of the sweat lining her collar and back. Jean shorts get thrown in the pile and replaced with soft pajama shorts. Emira shoves her brother’s shoulder with a foot as she’s flinging an oversized t-shirt over her head. She hisses at him to either go to his room or stop snoring. Ed grunts and flips over on the bean bag, one of Emira’s pillows clutched to him like a toy. The Blight groans and rolls her eyes, falling into her bed and shoving her phone on its charger. Golden eyes hide behind drooping lids. She might as well sleep while the buzz is staving off the hangover- there are two pounding headaches to wake up to in the morning.

The pounding on her door matches the throbbing in her head. Emira groans and grips her pillow as she buries her face in it to muffle out the sound of the insistent knocking. The door creaks open and Amity’s fading roots pop through the door.

“Ed, Em, hurry up!” Amity whispers fervently. “Father’s calling us.”

“Leave us alone, Mittens,” Emira groans as she sits up and runs a hand through her tangled hair. 

“S’not like we haven’t heard it a million times before,” Ed adds on and rolls off the bean bag onto the floor. “Oh my Titan, my back feels like I got kicked by a griffin.”

“Yeah, well so does my head. So shut up.”

“If you listened to them for once in your life then-”

“Uhh, no speeches Mittens.” Ed cuts off Amity with the groaned out words.

“We’re not all like you, little miss perfect,” Emira continues for her twin as she drags herself out of her bed and runs her tongue through her mouth.

Yuck, alcohol always gave her the worst morning breath. The young woman pushes into her bathroom, turning the water up all the way to drone out Amity’s scolding voice. When she can still her sister over the roaring sound of rushing water she pulls out her toothbrush and glares over her shoulder where Amity is screeching in the bathroom’s door.

“Okay, Mittens. We get it- we’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Spit first, you reject... and I’m trying to help,” Amity hisses as she makes her way out of the room. She kicks Ed in the leg when she notices him going back to sleep. “Get up, idiot, before they get more pissed at all of us.”

Emira is grateful when the door to her bedroom closes. The angry slam causes her headache to pulse just a little harder, but it’s worth it to get Mittens out of her hair. The rushing water takes the toothpaste froth and what little morning peace Emira had down the drain.

They’re called to the parlor and the twins aren’t surprised to see their parents sitting in their puffy leather chairs and sipping their morning coffee. Amity is standing before them. Back straight, hands behind her back and twisting hard enough to dislocate her wrist. Emira bumps into her side as the twins take up the both sides of their little sister. Amity risks a glance at her and notices Emira’s pointed look at her hands. The twisting stops just a bit and Emira straightens her head out to stare at her parents.

Emira purses her lips slightly, but not enough to be noticeable to their parents' searing gazes. The female twin clasps her own hands behind her back and forces her shoulders to loosen. She’s not a kid anymore, she doesn’t let them tower over her in these interactions as if she was still a child.

“How are your heads doing?” Odalia asks smartly with a hint of a smug grin peering over the rim of her coffee mug.

“Fine,” Emira lies through her teeth and forces a lazy smile across her lips. “Thanks for asking, mother.”

“Care to explain this?” Alador asks as he twists his tablet around and the twins’ heads fall to the side as pictures of them with last night's kiss and runs flood the screen.

Emira had been positive that they played it safe and avoided cameras.

“Boys are cute?” Ed offers and immediately apologizes when their father glares at them. 

“It was just a few kisses,” Emira defends and fiddles with a tangled knot in her hair. “And we left before anything bad could happen to us.”

“That’s not the point,” Odalia hisses and her coffee cup hits the wooden table with a loud clink. “We’re trying to close agreements that are meant to span years and then investors see two of _our_ heirs sticking their tongues down the throats of a bunch of random kids at a frat party?”

“The damage you two are causing to your own future is idiotic at best,” Alador takes over. “It doesn’t matter what I say to you. I say no more parties and you two get sloshed the next night. I say that you have to shadow me at work and you almost set a room on fire with your childish pranks. You all are no longer children,” Alador says as he stands from his chair and looks down on his children. “Since you don’t listen and wriggle out of _my_ attempts to rein you in…” Alador raises his chin. His boxy face and the sharpened edges of his suit cut his silhouette away from the soft roundness of his chair. “You two will be placed in _separate_ riding lessons at Griffins’ Sweep. Perhaps you’ll finally learn some discipline if it’s given to you the good ol’ fashioned way.” Alador’s stern eyes fall onto Amity, “You, Amity, are not to help them sneak out of this and, for not telling us about your sibling’s birdbrained escapade last night, you aren’t allowed to attend Boscha’s party Friday.”

“ _R_ _iding_ lesson?” Emira echoes and she can feel her nose scrunch in distaste.

“Your father insists that getting your hands dirty and breaking your back in the saddle will do something,” Odalia states coldly. “Now that’s the nicer option. Screw this up and I’ll personally make you regret it. Understand?”

“Yes, mother,” the siblings mutter and bow their heads as their parents' shadow encases them as the pair leaves the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some insight into the Blight family. Affluenza describes them pretty well actually. And hmm... Emira prefers freckles. Does anyone remember who has those??
> 
> Question for you guys. I'm debating whether this should be rated M or not. I rated it T because I feel that if it was a movie or tv show it'd be TV-14. Like emotion wise, it edges closer to Jackals Ladder but there's nothing very explicit. Also, those of you who read Jackals Ladder, do you think it should be rated T or M? I don't want to accidentally traumatize someone. 
> 
> UPDATE SCHEDULE: Saturdays and Thursdays if I have two chapters to post. If I only have one chapter to post, a new chapter every Saturday...  
> This is totally variable on my homework load but hopefully, I can stick to this! Ch 4 has been written so hopefully, the week buffer can keep me on track


	3. Plastic Heiress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Every little trait, however small  
> Makes my very flesh begin to crawl  
> With simple utter loathing  
> There's a strange exhilaration  
> In such total detestation  
> It's so pure! So strong!"  
> ~What is This Feeling, Wicked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter than I would like, but this chapter was being difficult. Viney's hard to write atm because her internal conflict doesn't hit until later. 
> 
> Note: Pigeon can be a nickname for a young woman/girl. I remember it being used in Lady and the Tramp and I thought it'd be suitable for Emira to call Viney because griffins are part pigeon. Get it? Yes? I'll stop now...

Brush, oil, wings, nails, beak. In that exact order. It’s a memory ingrained in Viney’s brain- the rough bristles of the flank brush, the pointed tip of the oil bottle. Harsh edges of ragged talons needing to be filed and the grit of the beak trimmer. Puddles is a wonderful specimen as usual, mild even for a griffin. Mild natures don’t do for derby racers, but the griffin’s desire to please makes up for it. Besides, even a griffin as temperate as Puddles has a thirst for speed. 

Viney taps Puddles’ foreleg, waits for the griffin to give her the scaled limb, and feels around for the claws. Her hand file takes off the serrated edges forming from the splitting nails and the leg drops. Hands trail along the griffin’s face, gently curve around the sharp edge of the beak. Puddles’ opens their mouth when prompted so their rider can gauge the amount of overgrowth on the beak. Satisfied with the minimal amount that will get ground down during Puddles’ next training session, Viney taps the beak and draws her hands away. The griffin happily swallows down the strip of jerky that Viney offers from her pockets.

“There’s my girl!”

Viney turns toward the sound of her father’s warm voice and depresses into the warm arm that wraps around her shoulder. She returns the tight hug with one of her own, breathes in the smell of leathers and griffin, before dropping her arms from around her father’s torso. The soft leather of Puddles’ bridle glides against her fingers and Viney pulls it off its tack hook. A click of her tongue has the griffin bobbing its head at her and Viney giggles as her griffin rubs against her cheek. A pair of clicks settles Puddles’ and the griffin is still as its rider positions the bridle. The beakpiece settles over Puddles’ beak and the leather straps are buckled around the creature’s head. Viney runs a finger from the tip of Puddles’ beak up, making sure the middle strap going over the top of the head is centered. There’s a click as the reins are attached, but Viney lets them drop and sway in the air. 

“Ready for a new group?”

“Oh I _love_ showing a bunch of rich greenhorns how to ride,” Viney answers sarcastically.

“Better than mucking stables, isn’t it?” her father asks as he grabs the reins of one of the stable’s griffins. “I can always just say I _don’t_ need you as my assistant.”

Viney’s head shakes in amusement and she swings her leg over Puddles’ back. Her palms press flat against the creature’s back as the griffin follows her father.

“Almost anything is better than mucking stables. If only I was deaf instead of blind, I wouldn’t have to listen to them whine when they realize that griffins aren’t as easy as they look.”

“Maybe my girl can get a girlfriend this time ‘round,” Viney’s father teases and laughs at the half-hearted hiss Viney directs at him.

“Aren’t you supposed to be against me dating?” Viney asks as she hears the door leading to one of the practice arenas open with a creak of old hinges.

“I never worried about you dating. I just didn’t want you pregnant before you were thirty.”

“Dad!” Viney laughs out and feels her face burn. A smile splits across her face as she pats her griffin's neck. “Puddles, get me out of here.”

Viney nudges her griffin’s sides and her weight jerks back as Puddles spurts forward and away from her laughing father. She knows she’s in the arena when the scratching of talons on concrete is replaced by the dull sound of kicked up dirt. In her peripheral vision, where shapes gain back their edges and form, she can see the shapes making up a mass of people. Her lack of vision doesn’t prevent the hairs of her neck from standing up. A girl doesn’t need to see to know when she’s being watched. This is, luckily, an older class so at least there should be a lot less squealing. 

Dry dirt kicks up onto the bare skin of Viney’s cheek as her griffin brings itself to a stop. Outstretched wings dragging their speed down and flapping up the loose dirt in waves. Her father isn’t far behind her, the dirt crunching under his feet as he leads his borrowed griffin into the arena. Viney slides off Puddles. Riding boots firmly planted in the dirt, she turns her head away from Puddles’ beak as the griffin tries to preen her hair and she pushes her griffin away with a hand. Viney occupies herself with Puddles as her father does the introductory preamble. Her pointed ears twitch when her name is brought up.

“Viney will be assisting us since this is a rather large group.”

Viney feels the scoff puff out of her nose more than she hears it. Large group is right. Adding in the _very_ last minute addition, the class has eight students. More than the average five and lazy on the coordinator’s side of things- as if five newbies on griffins aren’t hard enough. The larger class gets her out of mucking stables, but she still feels the stretching flames of anger lick at her insides when she thinks about that dumb supervisor piling even more work onto her dad. Viney’s father breathes griffins and hippogriffs and absolutely adores the derby, but there has to be limits. Overstocked introduction classes on top of his private lessons… that’s too much. No matter how much her dad says he doesn’t mind.

“Viney?”

Viney’s head jerks and she twists it toward her father slightly. “Sorry,” Viney mutters sheepishly and with a small knock against her head with a closed hand. “Zoned out.”

“That’s fine. Guide the recruits to their mounts while I answer some parent questions?”

Viney gives her dad a thumbs up and grabs Puddles’ reins in a loose grip. She doesn’t wait for them to form any sort of line or huddle, they’re all almost adults. Viney’s not going to quack at them like a children’s teacher. Walking to the stalls is familiar. The stall Viney rents for Puddles is in the same area as the young griffins they use for the beginner’s lessons. Each turn is memorized and the sound of talons on concrete is easy to hear, even with the din of cooing and squawking griffins. Even if Viney did somehow miss the noise of a stampeding animal, Puddles has the best eyes around.

“How long have you been riding?” one of them asks behind her.

And the line of questions begins.

“Since I could sit up,” Viney replies with only a hint of sarcasm. “I started on ponied griffins when I was three, but Dad took me for rides with him when I was two.”

There’s a wave of muttered compliments and exclamations. The youngest girl is seventeen and can’t believe that Viney’s been riding since she’s been alive.

“Been in the saddle a long time, haven’t you Pigeon?”

The sultry voice next to her ear makes Viney jerk to a stop. Her fingers tighten on Puddles' reins and her hearts start rampaging in her chest like a stampeding hippogriff. There’s an airy giggle and a blob of green streaks across the edges of Viney’s vision. She has to purse her lips to muffle the irritated groan about to slip out. She knows that voice. Even if she hadn't remembered it from the incident the other day, she's heard it on news reports and Penstagram videos.

Emira effing Blight is in the introductory riding class.

“Didn’t know you were a teacher, Pigeon,” Emira says as the rest of the group skirts ahead to where the griffins were resting in their stables.

This leaves the heiress and Viney in the back of the herd. Viney focuses on the supple softness of the worn leather in her hands. Her father pats her shoulder as he passes and takes his spot at the head of the flock, his griffin behind him. He starts lecturing again, introducing the griffins as a species and basic safety around the creatures. Viney could repeat this speech in her sleep. Don't approach from behind unless you want to be clawed across your face. If a griffin gets violent, greenhorns are to slowly slip out of the stall. No big confrontations, no panicked getaways that will trigger their hunting instinct- just slip out and lock the door behind you. There's not too much to worry about with these griffins. The majority of them are young, nuetered males and have been shown to have especially mild natures. Perfect first time griffin for a bunch of rookies.

"How many of these things have you done?" Emira's voice splits through the monotone and Viney flinches at the unexpected sound.

“Shouldn’t you be paying attention,” Viney redirects and grips at the fabric of her riding shirt to keep her hands close to her body. 

Why is Emira Blight doing in an introductory riding class? The Blights are probably the richest family on the isles that aren’t tied to the Emperor’s lineage. She could afford to have champion ranked trainers showing her how to ride and buy specially trained griffins that could respond to the terribly executed demands of a beginning hobby rider. So why in the nine circles is she at _Viney’s_ job? 

“I don’t think putting a bridle on is that difficult,” Emira drawls out and Viney feels the heiress’ body heat as the woman pushes closer and grazes Viney’s shoulder with her own. “You look like much more fun.”

“Then good luck,” Viney states as she grabs Puddles’ wing as her father’s timbre voice silences. She pushes herself away from Emira and shuffles away from the heiress. “Because you got to bridle a griffin now.”

“Alright, everyone, go ahead to your assigned stable and try to tack up. If things go smoothly we can move onto a griffin’s mental cues and hopefully get you all mounted before the day’s over.”

Viney keeps her smirk to herself when she hears the heiress swear softly under her breath and ask what stall she has. She feels a tad guilty, leaving her father to deal with the fake princess, but Viney wants nothing to do with Emira Blight. That’s the safest option for Viney’s employment status overall. Anyone with something between their ears knows not to mess with the Blights. The satisifaction of knocking one of the business empire's heirs off of their undeserved pedestal is not worth not being able her college tuition. 

“What is that?”

Viney flinches and fumbles to catch her bareback pad before it falls onto the ground. Her lips are pinched by one of her fangs as she holds in the aggravated hiss. A breath of hot air expels from Viney's lips and the rider repositions her riding pad. Squatting at her knees, Viney reaches under to tighten the girth into place. She rubs Puddles as she straightens from her crouch, taps the griffin on the wing, and hears Puddles shuffle positions so that Viney can throw herself onto their back. Viney's leg swings up and over her griffin's back and she pushes herself up straight, gathering the reins in one hand.

“Where’s your griffin?” Viney counters as she lightly nudges Puddles and trots past the heiress. 

“Are you going to answer _anything_ I ask you?” Emira responds as she quickens her pace to match the griffins. “It's with your father. Something was wrong with the bridle and he had to get a spare.”

"Do you have to keep asking questions?" Viney hisses back and her ears droop at her mistake. Her twisting stomach warns her to watch her tongue and she thanks the Titan that management isn't around to see her hiss at the daughter of the stable's investor... Viney inhales a calming breath through her nose. "Look, I'm kind of busy..."

The green-haired woman waits for another moment and her jaw clenches when Viney doesn't continue. She quickens her pace until she's walking in stride with Puddles. “We have barely done _anything_. How can you be busy?" Emira takes a glance around and sees that some are still fiddling with the saddles. "The griffins aren't even saddled up yet. Is this about the other day? Look, I didn’t _mean_ to make you spin out, but I’m sorry that I ruined your practice session.”

What a not sincere sounding apology. Viney doesn’t know why disappointment curls in her thoughts like billowing smoke. She hadn’t even expected an apology, even one as fake as plastic, from Emira Blight. Viney keeps her mouth shut. She doesn't have anything nice to say. 

“Seriously, it was a mistake,” Emira continues.

The accident really wasn't the worst thing in the world. No one got hurt in the end and it had been an honest mistake. Is this girl really going to hold it over Em's head forever? Emira's summer already looks bleak and the stable girl seems like the most interesting thing around. Is it so wrong that Emira wants _some_ sort of fun this summer? A bit of mindless flirting is all in good summer fun, but only when the other player reciprocates. She's definitely the cuter than the girls in her group with the light dusting of freckles creating constellations on her face and the button nose. She's cute right now, even when her face is squished into that aggravated expression and her green eyes are pointed straight forward. An obvious indication of not acknowledging the heiress' presence. Refreshing in a way, annoying in others, and making Emira ansty to get some sort of positive reaction out the girl because there's no doubt in her mind that the stable girl has a beautiful smile. Emira wants to get her grin and blush. Wants to see heat flood her cheeks when Emira whispers sweet words into her ears and feel whether or not her lips are soft or chapped from windburn.

She's curious about this adorable girl who's first reaction to a Blight was to hiss her out and bare her fangs. Emira Blight can't remember the last time she's been curious enough to put effort into her flirts. She hasn't needed to in a long time. The stable girl looks like a good time and Emira's... curious. Curious enough to jump through a few hoops to get the ball rolling.

"So, since I've apologized, let’s just forget it, okay?" Emira asks again.

Viney feels her eyelid twitch and blinks the feeling away. She drops her reins, not trusting herself to keep her grip loose and not wanting to pull on Puddles’ head. No reason to hurt her griffin because the Blight won’t leave her alone. She can hear the rest of the students a few paces ahead and bites at her tongue. Just a few paces and she’ll get the girl out of her hair. A flash of green. Puddles stumbles back to avoid ramming into the woman beak first.

“Where’s that boy toy of yours?” Emira asks because that's the second issue she needs to clear before jumping into the long game. No use playing if the girl already has her player two.

“What _are_ you talking about?” Viney asks, exasperation creeping into her voice, as she readjusts her seating after the backward fumble almost slid her off. Puddles goes around the heiress.

“Oh, come on,” Emira teases from behind Viney, rolling gold eyes at her retreating back. “That twig of a boy who was using you as his shield the other day. Tall, sweaty, looked ready to pee himself.”

“Jerbo?” Viney offers and her lips downturn into a scowl. “Isn’t my boy toy. And he’s not a coward.”

“Boyfriend, boy toy. Same thing,” Emira drawls out nonchalantly and her ears perk, waiting for an answer and hoping for a certain one.

“I’m gay,” Viney blurts out and feels her breath die in her lungs. She… did not mean to say that to Emira ducking Blight.

“Looks like we got something in common then, cutie,” Emira said slyly. A bright smile pulls at Emira's lips, not that Viney could see it. With a confident sway in her walk, the young woman passes by the stiff girl. She rejoins the herd of students.

“I was hoping that’d scare her off, actually,” Viney mutters quietly to Puddles as her dad calls her forward to help show off mounting a griffin. The stable girl feels her skin crawls at the heavy feeling of eyes on her. A shiver rolls down her back because she knows Emira Blight is staring at her like prey. 

This is going to be a rough summer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is actual plot stuff and not set up! Yay for everyone
> 
> I can't tell if my own character is in character. On one hand, Viney is blunt and content with her life- she doesn't have the description and conflict that Em has. I also changed the song for this chapter THREE times. This was suppose to have Viney being more... mean and disrespectful because of Emira's family name? But Viney isn't one for gossip rags so Viney ended up more annoyed than distrustful- in all honesty she just doesn't want to get fired from her job for saying the wrong thing to a Blight. Oh well, it's okay I guess (TvT).


	4. Prism Glass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You know that I won't stop until I make you mine  
> Until I make you mine  
> Put your hand in mine  
> You know that I want to be with you all the time  
> Oh darlin', darlin', baby, you're so very fine  
> You know that I won't stop until I make you mine  
> Until I make you"  
> ~Make you Mine, PUBLIC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys I got distracted by the star crossed au so this is the last pre-written chapter I have so hopefully no hiatus, but I'm writers blocked bc I got to figure out how to get Viney to give Emira a chance (rip author)

Emira Blight ends up at the stables almost every day, three times a week for private lessons and twice a week for the group lessons. Her weekends have her restrained to the house or following her parents to their social events. Black spots still stain her vision from the flashing lights of cameras and she can still hear the roaring din of screaming reporters. Compared to that, Emira is starting to prefer the derby stables.

Her private instructor is strict and seemed like he was born with a stick up his ass. She corrects her posture and barely holds in the hiss threatening to break through when the man roughly grabs her hands to fix her grip on the reins. Emira shifts in the saddle, her legs sore and her back throbbing from the long lesson. Long and boring. The only thing she’s done so far is ride in slow circles with someone holding a lead to the bridle as if she is a toddler at a carnival. The sound of the arena’s doors opens makes Em turn in her saddle, hands jerking the reins and causing the griffin to make a harsh half-spin that causes her instructor to start spitting out criticism. It deflects off Emira like a soft wind. 

The Blight is more interested in the stable girl that just walked into the room.

“ _Private_ lesson! Did you not read the door?” her instructor growls out loudly, his voice echoing off the walls in the empty arena.

Emira glares at him through the griffin's ruffling wings- what a bastard.

“Sorry, sir,” Viney apologizes and does an apologetic bow of her head. “I didn't see- I... It’s normally empty.”

“I mean,” Emira starts loudly and watches as Viney’s head tilts at the new voice. “I don’t mind. It’s a big arena.” A lump of disappointment settles in Em's stomach when Viney's curious ears drop hastily and a grimace crosses her face. That's not the reaction she wanted... 

“No, it’s fine. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be here-” Viney hastily responds and grips her reins, already pulling her griffin back out the door.

“No! Join us," Emiea insists a hint desperately. Emira needed a distraction before she died of boredom. The heiress culls her brain for a reason to persuade Viney to stay. "Maybe if I see you do it, I’ll figure this out!” 

Emira hears the instructor mutter something about distractions under his breath but he waves Viney in and tells her to close the door. Viney does so quietly and shuffles past Emira and her riding instructor. A long lead is in her hand and she clips it to the metal rings of- Puddles! That’s it’s name- Puddles’ bridle. Em watches as Viney does a series of clicks, the sound traveling through the dull air. The griffin responds, wings flapping up the loose dirt. Dust plumes as the creature gets in the air, the lead on its bridle taunt like a kite string in a harsh wing. Viney’s grip is loose though, the lead gently held in one hand as Puddles’ flies circles above. When the shape starts losing form, Viney whistles a note, and the griffin fixes its position.

“What was that?” Emira asks as the griffin lands after about ten minutes. 

“It’s called flying lunges, a light exercise for the griffin, but it strengthens communication. Every creature here is lunged before training. No more distractions, hands like this and don’t keep your feet like that. You’ll break an ankle.”

Emira does as instructed with an aggravated sigh, but keeps an eye on Viney’s training as she does. It gets her a few biting insults- ones that are effected as foam bullets. She is talking to the management before she leaves though because she’s getting sick of this teacher and wants his annoying voice away from her ears. She feels like a caged circus animal being told to do tricks. Trapped in the endless yelling as he tells her to focus. Focus on her hands, on her feet, on her weight distribution. But it’s hard to stay focused with the other girl in the room. Emira’s never been fond of derby or aerial sports in general, but there’s a beauty to watching this blind girl move. If Emira didn’t already know that Viney couldn’t see, she never would’ve guessed. It doesn't bind the rider to the ground- Viney doesn't seem to need her eyes as Puddles flies tight circles above them. The duo cleanly avoiding the support rafters and slipping through the wooden hoops screwed to the walls. Every turn is sharp and perfectly timed, even when their speeds pick up and the rush of wind they create makes Emira’s ponytail smack her in the face.

Emira wonders what it is like to be a force that even fate's cruel hand can not tame.

Getting her feet back on the ground where she’s most comfortable is Em’s favorite part of any lesson. She stands through the words thrown in her face and perks when the teacher demands Viney to make sure that Emira’s griffin makes it back to its stall. He stalks off in a hurry, leaving the two young adults alone with the griffins in the empty arena. 

Viney’s landing is graceful and quiet. The rider scratches her griffin as she slips off her weird saddle thing and unclips the bridle around Puddles’ head. A few feathers go flying as the griffin shakes its large head and a giggle bursts out of Viney’s mouth when Puddles cuddles into her neck. The laughter carries through the room and Em feels the smile break across her face a little. 

That girl is really cute.

Emira’s borrowed mount squawks and shakes its own head, breaking the bubble of serenity. Viney jumps and jerks her head toward Em. Sometimes Emira finds it unnerving, how those green eyes can find her even though Viney can barely see her. Blind yet always staring straight through her to her soul; it makes Em’s heart race. The Blight swallows her nerves as Viney approaches and holds her hands out for the reins. Emira slips her own hand into the stable girl’s open palm and bends closer to whisper in the shorter girl’s ear.

“You could’ve just asked, Pigeon.” 

Emira chuckles when Viney hastily draws her hand away and crosses her arms. A flush of satisfaction floods her at the slight pink tinging the stable girl’s cheeks and Em considers it a small victory. Considering the failed attempts of her last few group classes, the only time she's been around Viney long enough to talk to her, this is a win in Emira’s book. The stable girl actively avoids Emira, the heiress knows it. She sticks near her father and quickly sputters out excuses whenever Em manages to corner her. It’s as endearing as it’s frustrating- and the Blight is quickly realizing that there’s still a bit of bad blood boiling between them on Viney’s side.

That doesn’t mean Emira’s going to give up yet. 

“I’m off the clock. Can you please hand me the reins, Miss. Blight?”

Customer service voice? That’s a bad omen. Emira doesn’t push her luck and gently presses the reins into Viney’s hand.

“Sorry, Pigeon. Didn’t mean to keep you,” Emira says softly and drops her touch as soon as Viney grips the reins. 

Emira’s not giving up, she’s enjoying the fluttering in her chest whenever she gets Viney to speak to her, but she can back off when a girl’s having a rough day. The look that she receives from the stable girl, confused and furrowed brows and a quirked mouth, makes a seed of guilt bloom in her gut. Geez, Em’s not that bad, is she? Emira opens the door as Viney leads Em’s griffin by the reins in one hand and grips Puddles’ wing with the other.

“After you, my lady.”

The momentary flush of red makes the dark spattering of freckles stand out on Viney’s cheek. A mumbled thank you is rushed out and the clacking of talons on concrete breaks through the background noise. Emira follows behind, mostly to prolong the time she has with Viney. 

“You don’t have to stick around. I can do it myself.”

“Well,” Emira starts and holds the sound. “I _am_ supposed to take the gear off myself. I think I might get kicked though.”

“That’s for sure,” Viney immediately responds. Her ears automatically drop because she just indirectly insulted a _Blight_. She stammers to correct herself. “I- I…”

The stuttering stable girl is cut off by Emira’s melodic laugh and the Blight muffles it with a hand. Em clears her throat and lets a few more chortles slip by before responding.

“You’re right. I’m really no good at this,” Em admits with no shame and she stretches her aching legs. “I also feel like I’ll never walk properly again.”

“Your body gets used to it eventually,” Viney responds as they enter the griffin stables. “Do you know which griffin this is?”

“Uh, Pinecone? I think,” Emira replies. “I- I think it was stall B-6?”

Viney nods and pulls gently at the griffin’s bridle. The stall door opens and the griffin sweeps inside. Emira watches as Viney's hand trails along the synthetic leather, looking for the clasp. It comes undone with a snap and Viney hooks it over the stall door.

“Which one of these pegs does it go on?” Emira asks as she grabs it.

The only sign Viney heard her is a slight shift of the body towards Em's voice. The stable girl loosens the girth from the griffin and sinks under the weight of the saddle.

“One farthest to the right, closest to the door. Unhook the reins, hook it beakpiece up, and wrap the reins and loop it around the peg next to it,” Viney answers as she walks out of the stall with the heavy saddle. The stable girl bumps the door closed with a hip.

“I can take that,” Emira insists as she loops the reins over the peg and rushes over to Viney. Her hands grip at the saddle and Viney just shakes her head in refusal, not relenting to the insistent tugs.

“It’s heavy, I got it.”

“It can’t be that bad. I’m a strong girl,” Emira says with a sly smirk gracing her lips. “I bet I could sweep you off your feet.”

Viney’s mouth drops into a straight line and she shakes her head again before dropping her hold. A gasp of air sounds as Emira is burdened with the full weight of the forty-pound saddle. A small curl of satisfaction pulls the corners of Viney’s lips up as she hears the heiress curse and heft the thing up.

“Want me to take it back?”

“I’m fine! Where’s this going?” Emira asks with a strangled breath and hefts the dead weight up again.

“There’s a tack room down this hall on the right about sixty feet. You will see the stands for the saddles- just place it on an empty one.”

Viney follows behind Emira as she waddles to the tack room. She wishes she could watch the plastic princess struggle along with the heavy saddle, but she’s okay with the stammered curses and heavy breathing. She keeps her chuckles low and quiet, but one slips out a little louder than she wants when the obvious smack of leather on wood is followed by the sound of Emira falling over the saddle to breathe.

“Think this is funny, Pigeon?” Emira asks, but the accusation is softened by the laugh that follows it. Her gold eyes watch Viney’s face gain a pensive look and the Blight tilts her head before remembering Viney can’t see the motion. “I drown you with questions. Whatever you’re wondering, just ask.”

“What’s a girl like you doing in riding classes?”

“Punishment,” Emira drawls out as she straightens the saddle and meets Viney at the door. “My father thinks I need _discipline_ or something like that. I don’t know why he thinks riding an overgrown chicken would do that.”

Viney is silent for a moment before responding. “Maybe if you put in some more effort you'd find you like it.”

Emira feels one of her brows raise. A little bit of a ballsy thing to say to a Blight. Amusement floods her body and she crosses her arms across her chest. “And give him the satisfaction? If I wanted to ride a griffin I’d just pay to do one of those recreational trip things. My parents would love that actually,” Emira notes with a grin. “Good family time publicity for basically nothing. Besides, it’s not like people use riding for much anymore- just sports right? I mean, there are cars for a reason. These lessons are just a way to waste my time so I’m out of his hair,” Em bemoans and rubs a hand through her messed up hair. She looks back at Viney and grazes the other’s hand with her own. “I’d rather be spending my summer almost anywhere else. I might ditch my next private lesson; you should join me, Pigeon.”

Viney quickly draws her hand back to her body, stuffing it under an arm and taking a step back. Emira frowns at the sudden retreat, head tilting in confusion. That’s… not a usual response to Em asking people to go somewhere with her. Gold eyes furrow as Viney grips Puddles’ wing and pushes out the door.

“I’ve got to go home,” Viney supplies as an excuse as she rushes away from the Blight.

Emira blinks and she’s gone, brown bun disappearing being a wall and leaving the heiress all alone in the stables. Green hair crests as frustrated fingers run through the strands and Emira sighs. She’s not sure what she said that caused Viney to flee, but the young woman accepts the fact that she probably reset whatever progress she just made.

…

Viney is avoiding her again at the next group lesson. Any questions are given curt answers. All flirts are disregarded as if Viney spoke a different tongue. It makes a desperate aggravation crawl along Emira’s skin with each one of the stable girl’s short sentences and each time she turns away from her. A frantic twirling of her thoughts telling her that she broke something for good. What did she _do_? Emira can’t even ask! Not without one of the other girls butting in because they have useless questions that Viney’s father, the actual instructor, can answer. Or having someone tug on the reins too hard and cause a griffin to react with harsh screeches and kicking legs and Viney skirting away to calm it. 

They’re getting into the air today. The normal indoor arena is replaced with an outdoor paddock and Em’s noticing how the griffins are all fluffing out their wings. Her classmates are just as excited, bouncing on their feet and jostling reins. Viney doesn’t share their enthusiasm, but her fidgety hands don’t escape Emira’s golden stare. Even the lax girl is ready for something more exciting than doing laps around a closed-in arena. Viney’s father claps his hands, his personal hippogriff bobbing its head next to him as it coerces Viney to hand over the treats she has around her waist. Em smiles when Viney sneezes due to a loose feather tickling her nose and is almost shoved over by the thousand-pound animal’s strong neck.

“Alright everyone, we’re going to watch Viney here do a simple running take off here which is what we’ll start you all with,” Viney’s father starts and Emira blinks back to the present.

Viney’s body is low on her griffin, hands close to the griffin’s neck, and holding the reins up close to the head. Puddles’ wings ruffle as they're spurred forward and their legs extend into a leaping bound. On the third stride, the front talons curl into the body and the large, feline back legs shake under the six hundred pound force as the creature leaps. Wings expand to their full extent and flap. Girl and griffin reach the air, a good height above the ground. Puddles’ white underwing splits the blue of the sky as the two soar a tight circle around the paddock. The students make noises of wonder and, even though Emira’s seen plenty of griffin’s fly, the heiress can’t say there isn’t something fixating about the blissful expression on Viney’s face.

Emira wonders what it’s like to feel that free.

All the students are buzzing in their saddles and Viney shrugs off the compliments some douse her in as her griffin lands with a flap of its wings to where her father whistled from the ground. The burly man gives everyone some final tips for take-off: grip close to the head and then loosen to the ends of the reins, keep your legs tight and your feet straight in the stirrups, and body low for aerodynamics. He adds that he and Viney are there if things go wrong, but some are skittering with nerves. Emira hears one of them mutter about how a blind girl wouldn’t even know if someone was falling until they hit the ground and nearly snaps her fangs at them. 

Take-offs are taken one by one with Viney circling in the air on the outskirts, Puddles watching for falling victims. Taking off is… not as easy as Viney makes it look. There are fumbles, griffins pulled to the ground by wrongly distributed weight that kicks up puffs of dirt. One girl chokes up, clutching the griffin’s neck as it lazily flaps around in the air as the student realizes that she’s afraid of heights. Viney’s father has to go up on his hippogriff and guide the griffin back to the ground. One girl kicks the poor creature during the initial start up run and is bucked off. 

Em’s got a death grip on the reins. Her grip is clammy from nerves as her hair flares in time to the pumping wings of her griffin. She’s not ready for the shock that shakes her bones as the creature pushes off the ground. Fingers grip onto the reins for a sense of stability and pull back the griffin’s head. It angrily swerves in the air in retaliation. A scream bursts out of the Blight’s mouth as her body lurches in the opposite direction of the griffin. A force yanks the reins and her hands down and, in a blink, Viney’s bun is in Emira’s face as she takes control of the upset griffin. Emira really doesn’t understand how Viney isn’t falling off of Puddles with the sideways tilt they are forced to take as the rider hastily clicks a lead onto the griffin’s bridle and drops the reins. Puddles’ wing flap to counter the fall they started to grab Em’s griffin. The lead connecting the two griffins starts to pull taut as Puddles flies away to get enough room to spread their wings. When they hit the ground, Emira hastily dismounts.

By the Titan, she _hates_ riding.

“You okay?”

Emira nods and stutters out a yes with her cheeks flushing more as Viney’s voice breaths across her face. The stable girl has one hand on Em’s shoulder, ears perked as Viney tries to tell if Emira lied and is injured or if she is indeed okay. Viney’s concern only seems to last as long as it takes her father to declare Emira not injured. The warm hand falls away and then she’s back on her griffin. Leaving Emira alone on the ground.

The group runs into two young jockeys as they pass the aerial practice arena on their way back to the stables. The girls fawn over them a little, giggles and chirped compliments about them and their griffins. One of the males nudges Viney, trying to goad her into doing a lap. A (terrible) flirty line makes the girl sigh and consent, most likely to save her eardrums of the elementary school pick-up lines. Because seriously, calling a _griffin rider_ an angel who tripped out of heaven would make even Edric curl his nose up. Edric is the only Blight fond of terrible pickup lines (as long as they came out of cute mouths), but even he has standards. Besides, Viney doesn’t need to be an angel to have wings- she’s not grounded by such trivial things.

The class lines the same fence that Emira leaned against when she first met Viney a few weeks ago. The three riders burst out of the starting platform as the buzzer sounds. Emira feels regret claw at her throat as she watches Viney’s tight loops through the hoops. Regretting her bitchy words about Viney's riding even as Viney falls behind her two abled competitors in the tight quartered tunnels. She’s never regretted the words that fell out of her mouth so much. Maybe if she held her tongue for once, Viney would focus on her for longer than a few seconds. Hear her voice and not automatically let her face drop in distaste because Emira is just another rich girl wasting her time.

Raucous cheering meets the three riders as they soar above them, the straight way giving Puddles the opportunity to gain a small lead. Emira’s mind weighs down on her as she watches a bright smile spill across Viney’s face as she drinks in the harsh wind and loud cheers of the derby. Viney’s freeing laugh makes her heart pulse, and Emira wants so hard. Wants to see Viney be free, wants to be free with her. As the Blight watches Viney land and shove her face into her griffin’s puffy chest, it hits her like an arrow to her chest.

Emira wants more than a few flirts and a kiss. She wants to be more than another rich girl wasting Viney's time. Emira Blight _wants_ this girl- wants her blushes and her smiles and her laughs making music in her ear. She craves the snarky comments and the expressive movements of this girl who doesn’t need sight to control a creature four times her weight. Wants to cling to this force that doesn't yield to the forces against her. Emira's heart twists in her chest when Viney rejoins the group, the rider’s chest labored from exerted breathing and whose hair is wildly falling out of the loose bun. Viney's face is flushed and Emira wants to kiss the dark freckles exemplified by the reddened skin. The thumping heart in her chest threatens to break free of its cage and the heiress is willing to let it fly from her into the rider’s gentle hands. 

Emira Blight makes up her mind. She wants this girl to become hers and she's willing to work for it. It doesn't matter if she drains her bank account or if she never hears the end of it from Edric. Emira's going to do whatever it takes. Ride a griffin, make a fool of herself; as long as she can get Viney to smile at her and laugh at her and whisper in Emira's ear that they belong to each other. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emira gets some character development all because she's becoming too gay to function. Good job Emira, you are one step away from being in love with someone who barely speaks to you.
> 
> Why is this story harder than Jackal's Ladder? Probably because neither of these two has such defining characteristics- they're just a jumble of thoughts and ideas that I have to keep track of (TvT)  
> Should've planned more
> 
> Also, writing Emira at the end without making her sound like a giant red flag was hard. I'm not sure I even portrayed this right. Because there's such a thin line between this rich girl deciding she will work for the affection she wants and a spoild kid demanding that she get what she wants. I want it to lean toward the former, so I hope that came across right.


	5. Mind Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh no, don't look in their eyes  
> 'Cause that's how they get you  
> Kiss you then forget you (crush)  
> All they're feeding you is beautiful lies  
> So hide in the bathroom  
> 'Til they find someone else new (culture)  
> I don't care what you're saying  
> I don't wanna participate in your game of manipulation (crush)  
> And no I don't want your sympathy, all this love is suffocating  
> ~ Crush Culture, Conan Gray

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so much trouble writing this, but now the plot can pick up yeeeessss  
> EDIT: took this out of the I Don't Need Eyes series because it doesn't really count as an I Don't Need Eyes story

“Afternoon, gorgeous!”

Viney manages not to flinch, her tense muscles smoothing out as she shakes the greeting out of her ears. Puddles knocks her hand with their head and Viney hastily clips the bridle in place before she moves aside to let her griffin out of the stall.

“Afternoon, Miss. Blight,” Viney answers as she closes the gate behind her. Professionalism, she has to stay professional no matter what this girl throws at her. Deep breath, firm up her face, breath out. “I hope you’re doing well.”

“Well, you always make my day less boring,” Emira responds as she flings her finished braid over her shoulder and fiddles with the riding helmet. “You’d think by now I’d be used to this helmet.”

The heiress falls into stride with Viney, her borrowed griffin bobbing its head into Viney’s shoulder. The stable girl startles at the unexpected shove, but quickly brings a hand up to pet the creature and holds an open palm out to Emira.

“Would you like me to bring him to the arena?”

“No, I can do it!” Emira insists and tugs the griffin back a step. “I’ve paid attention a _little_.”

Viney holds in her hum of disbelief and instead nods her head in acceptance. Emira is not meant for riding and it’s obvious in how she mounts and rides. It’s not… dangerous (usually) and she gets her objective completed (in the most convoluted way possible), so Viney can’t say she’s the worst student to ever walk through the doors. But all her graces got spent on her smooth tongue and not on her ability to fling a leg over a griffin. Emira stays near her as Viney helps one girl with the heavy saddle and another with mounting. When she gets a stray kick to the jaw with the young student’s messy mounting, the heiress hisses at the other girl.

“Watch it!” Emira growls out as she grips Viney’s arm and pulls her up.

“S-sorry,” the younger girl stutters out. “Sorry, Viney, really.”

“It’s okay,” Viney reassures as she rubs the sting out of her chin and pulls her arm out of Emira’s grip. “Really, don’t worry about it. I’ve been bucked off a hippogriff, this is nothing,” the stable girl adds as a tense silence falls between everyone.

“Clumsy kid,” Emira hisses under her breath as Viney moves on. 

“It’s fine,” Viney mutters and shuffles closer to Puddles, hiding into the giffin’s chest fluff. 

The heiress scoffs next to Viney stretches out her arms. “You don’t have to be so forgiving, but if you say so, Pigeon,” Emira says airly before turning to better face Viney. “I’ve been working on my take off. You should stop by my private lessons, I got my teacher switched to your father.”

Viney knows- it’s just another item on her dad’s list of work. That’s not Emira’s fault (even Viney would’ve switched instructors if she had been cursed with the young adult’s last teacher), but she’d like to see her father get a bit of a break soon… The stable girl shakes the thought out of her head and follows Puddles’ lead to the outdoor arena. She shakes Emira off her back when they enter the paddock, immediately swinging herself onto Puddles back with a half-formed excuse of needing to speak to her father. 

The paddock’s a bit crowded. Another class is merging with theirs because two instructors are better than one when it comes to introducing the hoops. Jerbo nervously greets her and hands her a comm.

“Why are you here?” Viney asks as she shoves the device into her ear and waits for her friend to adjust the audio settings. 

“Another set of eyes, I suppose,” Jerbo responds as he fiddles with the device that connects the comms. “I’ll mostly be in the stands, watching for collision courses. Sooo, good luck!”

“Viney! Viney,” Emira calls out over the rumbling voices and cawing griffins.

Viney groans low under her breath and accepts the sympathetic pat on the shoulder that Jerbo gives her as she straightens in her saddle and settles Puddles. The blur of movement hints that Jerbo has taken guard at Puddles’ head and the griffin cooes into his pets. 

“Hey, Viney,” Emira starts and tugs on Edric’s arm. “Remember my brother?”

“Hey,” Ed greets with a wave that he immediately drops when Em knocks his ribcage with a bony elbow. “Right, eyes. Ow!” He hisses when Emira elbows him again, “Sorry about that, I forgot you can’t see- wait, shit that probably sounded bitchy. Um sorry, again? I’m Edric. I’m not a complete ass, I promise...” The Blight trails off with an awkward cough. “Know what, I’ll stop talking.”

Viney barks out a laugh that she chokes on as the air leaves her mouth. Puddles tilts their head back at the wheezing sound and Viney pushes the beak nipping at her sleeves away with one hand as she tries to calm her laughing chest with another. She clears her throat and waves Edric’s speech off.

“It’s chill. You’re here too?”

“Yeah, but I think I’m getting the hang of it!” Edric tells her excitedly and grips his borrowed griffin’s head to smash their foreheads together. “He looks like a bat, so I call him Dracula! What kind of name is Soaring Skies? You’re totally a Dracula, and he listens to me when I say it!”

“That’s only because you bring it like a pound of jerky and feed it when no one’s looking,” Emira adds in dryly with a roll of her eyes.

“I feed them too many treats too,” Viney tells Edric and shakes Puddles’ cheek fluff, “This girl would be a rolly polly if I didn’t exercise her so much. My dad’s hippogriff used to only let me ride him if I bribed him first,” Viney tells Edric in a stage whisper as if her dad would hear. 

“You guys have a _hippogriff_?” Edric asks excitedly and takes in an excited breath at Viney’s fervent nod. “What kind? I like how the black ones look, with the curly hair tail!”

“Friesian hippogriffs!” Viney supplies with a happy bounce in her saddle. “Expensive taste, Blight. We don’t got one of those. Dad’s got a retired racer though- a thoroughbred that my mom’s pa gave him. He’s with Dad now. Hold on.”

Viney calls out for her father and swipes the reins of his hippogriff from him. The creature nuzzles into Viney and she leads the hippogriff over to the twins. Edric immediately whistles appreciatively when he catches sight of the brown hippogriff.

“May I introduce Crowning Pursuit, but I’ve been calling him Crown since I could talk,” Viney pets the hippogriff’s head and shakes her head in amusement, “My dad religiously calls him Big Boy. Drove my mom crazy. You can pet him.”

Emira watches Edric fawn over the hippogriff with an aggravated purse of her lips. Well, there goes that plan. She knew she shouldn’t trust Edric to help her out- he’s never been a good wingman. Emira laughs when Edric’s griffin refuses to go through the hoop and the young man is flung through the hoop without his mount.

…

There aren’t many days Viney isn’t at the stables. Her days off in the summer are few and far between and typically spent catching up on sleep or listening to audiobooks or just laying out in the hammock and getting sunburnt. However, Viney wants the serotonin rush given from sugary drinks, so she tacked up Puddles and took a flight into town.

It’s not a modern sight by any means to see a griffin waiting in a parking lot, but it’s one Luz Noceda is used to. The tanned girl chirps a greeting as Viney’s entrance makes the overhead door ring. She watches the blind girl weave through the familiar setting, only offering a simple direction of ‘left’ when Viney almost rams into a pulled out chair.

“It’s dead in here,” Viney notes as she leans against the counter.

“It’s like, ten am on a Wednesday,” Luz adds as she pulls a cup off the stack. “Regular?”

“Mountain the whipped cream, like enough to instantly give me cavities.”

“I feel like nurses should be, I don’t know, healthier?” Luz jokes as she measures out milk for a milkshake. 

“Your mom never binge on ice cream?” Viney counters as she digs out her card and stuffs it into the card reader. “Work’s driving me nuts. Any chance that Eda needs a new employee?”

“I love her,” Luz states as she shakes the whipped cream container, “But she’s cheap as hell and pays terribly. Come on, you _love_ working with griffins.”

“Yeah, griffins. Not rich kids,” Viney mumbles and her ears droop miserably even as the sound of her drink getting slid over to her rings in her ears. “One of them is driving me crazy- won’t leave me alone and I can’t just… tell her off. I’d get fired first.”

“Woes of customer service,” Luz agrees seriously and Viney hears her elbows hit the wood of the counter as Luz leaned forward. “What’d the girl do?”

“Called Jerbo my boy toy for one. Which, ew,” Viney wrinkles her nose at the thought and Luz bursts out laughing. “Doesn’t have an ounce of motivation in her. My dad has to do everything but ride the griffin for her,” Viney waves an aggravated hand through the air and starts counting off her pet peeves with the Blight. “She doesn’t even try to pay attention. Like, I understand that she doesn’t want to be there, but she keeps… I don’t know? Dogging me? Asking me to do things for her, or asking me personal questions. I’m just trying to do my job, ya know? I really don’t need this girl bugging me all the time,” Viney twirls her straw with a tired hand. “She ‘apologized’, if you can even call it that, for almost breaking my neck when she whistled during my practice session she wasn’t even supposed to _be_ at. Sent me flying off Puddles and we’re lucky neither of us sprained something.”

“I mean, at least she said sorry?” Luz offers hesitantly and Viney shakes her head, a sigh bursting past her lips.

“It was very obvious that I was in the wrong for being mad about how I was almost injured since it was an _accident_ ,” Viney spits out sarcastically. “Even though they weren’t supposed to be there and she didn’t actually sound sorry. I think she just wanted it out of the way so that I would talk to her. I don’t get it, at all! There’s a bunch of other people for her to bother.”

“Is she flirting?” a new voice butts in and Luz’s friend and co-worker, Willow, comes out from the back with a mug of tea in her hands. “Because, taking out the whole, almost breaking your neck part it sounds like flirting. Your job usually only has rich girls take lessons, right?”

“That’s flirting?” Luz asks in disbelief. “ _Dios mío_ , if that’s flirting then no wonder I’ve never had a relationship.”

“It’s _rich girl_ flirting,” Willow responds as she takes a seat on one of the stools and takes a sip of her chamomile tea. “You should’ve seen Boscha. It took me forever to figure out Boscha wanted a date when almost everything she said is how she knew better places to go for anything.”

“No way,” Viney denies. “She’s just bored, right? Luz, tell me I’m right!”

“You are asking the wrong girl, _amiga_ . The closest I’ve come to a relationship is self-insert fanfiction, _really_ bad fanfiction.”

“There is no way a _Blight_ is flirting with me!” Viney declares firmly around the straw of her milkshake. 

“Hey, I know a girl called Blight! That’s kind of funny,” Luz adds in. “Her name’s Amity!”

Viney chokes on her shake and Willow’s mug harshly clashes against the counter at the same time. The raven-haired girl levels Luz with a disbelieving look, eyes wide and full of shock.

“You know _Amity Blight_ ? And it’s _Emira_ who’s flirting with you?” Willow asks, voice pitching as the bell rings throughout the shop. “Oh, Boscha would throw a fit,” the girl giggles to herself.

“What are you going off about, Petals?”

“Speak of the devil,” Willow says as her girlfriend grumbles a hello to Luz and presses a kiss to her cheek. “I was telling them how you didn’t know how to flirt when you were trying to ask me out.”

“Yes, I did!” Boscha hisses and stuffs her hands in her jacket. 

“No, you didn’t. You literally tricked me into going on a date because you said you were driving me home so I wouldn’t get rained on, and then you drove us to that overpriced ice cream parlor.” Willow shrugs off the arm wrapped around her shoulder and turns her gaze back to her mug of tea. “I thought you were going to murder me.”

“You’re the idiot who couldn’t take a hint,” the girl grumbles and shoves a fistful of snails at Luz. “Get me something with caffeine that doesn’t taste like absolute shit.” She turns her glare back to Willow, “I know how to flirt.”

“Boscha, you thought flirting was telling me how my father’s flowers were garbage compared to your florist and then sent me an eighty snails arrangement as proof.”

“You like flowers!”

Willow rolls her eyes, but an amused smile is hiding behind her mug as Boscha wraps her arms around her middle and continues her tirade into her shoulder. Luz slides a paper coffee cup at the rich girl and slides the teenager’s change across the counter. Boscha blinks at it and stuffs it in the tip jar.

“You realize that was like, fifteen snails right?” Luz asks as she eyes the bills now stuffing the small jar.

“I don’t care.”

“That’s more than an hour’s pay, what the hell is wrong with rich people? _Todos ustedes están locos_ ,” Luz mutters to herself. “Anyway, what was with your reaction to Amity? Is she well known, or something?” the Latina asks as she tears open a sugar packet and lets the contents pile on her tongue.

“I keep forgetting you’ve only been here for a few months,” Viney confesses and brushes the lock of hair tickling her nose out of her face. “Amity is a Blight. The richest family on the isles who own the amusement park and like, a few restaurants uptown.”

“Emira is failing to flirt with Viney,” Willow tells Boscha, “And apparently Luz is friends with Amity.”

“You’re fucking with me?” Boscha asks. “Stick up her ass Amity made friends with the Luzer? Ow! It’s a joke, Petals, _fuck_ ,” Boscha hisses when Willow roughly elbows her ribs. “Emira Blight, huh?” Boscha hums in thought for a second, twirling one of Willow’s curl around her fingers and nuzzling into Willow’s neck. “I guess that’d make sense. The Blight twins like to fuck around- ah, not actually fuck because their parents would actually disown them if that got out. But they fly through dates like I go through shoes…” the rich girl stops to think again. “I mean, she’d be fun? Emira’s not a bitch, but she definitely plays with hearts.”

“I’m not looking for fun,” Viney states and pushes away her mostly finished milkshake. “I’ve heard about the Blight twins, and I’m not interested in whatever mind game she thinks we’re playing.”

“If she’s really bothering you, I’ll have Boscha tell her off,” Willow adds, and Boscha grunts her agreement into Willow’s shoulder. “I know you think it’d interfere with your job, but she probably doesn’t even realize she’s acting like a brat,” Willow’s eyes roll and her voice drawls as she looks down at Boscha’s head buried in her neck. “These rich girls think that they just need to throw money and attention at whoever is weird enough not to fall at their feet.”

“Are you looking to break up, Petals?” Boscha asks sarcastically and tightens her hold despite her threat. “Do you even like me?”

“I love you, babe, but sometimes your money shows. You can be a spoiled brat, but you’re _my_ spoiled brat.” Willow pecks Boscha’s unamused lips and the rich girl smiles into it. “Seriously though, Boscha will knock Emira down a peg if you need her too.”

Viney makes a noise of acknowledgment but doesn’t respond to the offer. The blind girl can fight her own battles.

Viney stops by the pet store before she heads back home to fall into a sugar coma. Puddles’ head bobs beside Viney and the girl hears the griffin coo at other customers. Barcus, a friend and an employee of the shop, is making sure that Viney grabs the right thing.

“Thanks, Barcus.” Viney says as the gruff teen drops her items into the basket. “You got to come over and see the flying patterns. I want to do them with Jerbo, but he keeps thinking I’m going to fall off.” Viney shakes her head at the thought and pats Puddles’ face. “He thinks we’re some tween girl who doesn’t know how to ride.”

Barcus grunts next to her, a low and grumbly thing for the relatively short man. That’s Barcus though, barks and grunts and huffs and only real words when absolutely necessary. Puddles leads Viney out of the aisle and Barcus leads both of them to the treat section. Viney doesn’t even bother asking what the packages are, Puddles is already strutting forward to pluck something off the shelf.

“Hey, it’s the griffin girl!”

Viney turns at the sound of a Blight and Puddle trills. Her griffin lumbers away from the display and shoves the bag of treats into her hand. Viney rubs at Puddles’ cheek as the sound of footsteps edge closer and closer.

“Woah! You have your griffin?” Edric shouts as he pushes closer to Puddles and tilts his head in sync with the griffin. “Wild! I’ve never seen one off the track’s grounds.”

“Puddles doubles as my service animal,” Viney tells him and pulls at the sash she knows she secured around the griffin’s neck. “You know, like a seeing-eye dog?”

“I’ll be your eyes anytime, Pigeon,” Emira breathes in her ear and Viney jumps into Puddles at the sudden sound. “Looking beautiful as always.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Viney mutters to herself as she clutches Puddles’ bridle and palms around for the basket she dropped. “What are you doing here, Miss. Blight?”

“Aw, come on, Pigeon,” Emira says and brushes shoulders with Viney as she goes to look at the display. “We’re not at the dumb stables. Hey Edric, why don’t you go check out? I’ll catch up.”

“But-” Edric starts but coughs the words away at Emira’s pointed head tilt. “I- uh. Sure! Bye, Viney! I hope I can pet your dad’s hippogriff again!”

“ _Brothers_ ,” Emira drawls out. “Have to love him unfortunately, we’re basically glued to each other. _But_ …” Em elongates the sound. “I would rather be stuck to you. I’m supposed to go to the stables after this, but why don’t we go do something fun?”

“No thanks,” Viney says as she grips Puddles’ bridle as she clicks her tongue. The griffin starts leading her toward the checkout. “I got things to do,”

“Come on, Pigeon! I’ll pay for the stuff you’re getting and we could take off!”

“I said no!” Viney hisses and Puddles trills in concern next to her. “I don’t know what game you’re playing with me, but I don’t want any part of it!”

“Pigeon-”

“That’s not my name! Why can’t you just leave me alone?” Viney growls and she grips Puddles’ bridle with a clenching fist. 

“Pige- Viney, wait a minute.” Emira tries to grab at Viney’s sleeve, but the blind girl hisses at her and pushes her hand off. Puddles shuffles at the sound and caws at the Blight until she draws back. “I- I’m sorry. I didn’t- didn’t,” the heiress fumbles over her words but Viney just shakes her head.

“I don’t care. Just… just leave me alone,” the blind rider mutters.

Viney pushes her griffin to the door, hastily creating distance between herself and the Blight. Her basket topples over, all her unbought products spilling on the ground. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jackal's Ladder Boscha, not cannon Boscha. My story- my Boscha.  
> Here, Willow never knew Amity. She knows her through Boscha. (Boscha met her because she ran into Willow's fathers' shop to avoid talking to someone and instantly had a gay brainless moment when cute girl asked if she needed help. Then began terribly flirting for WEEKS. They're good now and have been dating for a while)


	6. author has too much homework

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Author ran out of pre-written chapters and did not have time to write the new chapter so she' giving you hastily done art instead (TvT)  
> I'm sorry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment by SpellingFascists last chapter

(Author's sketch of Viney looks better than the color... sorry but I gave her FRECKLES)

*Bonus*

Emira after Mind Games

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never know how to size these things bc I assume people read these on smartphones. Can also be found on my art insta @artz_vi


	7. Tongue Tied

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here comes a thought  
> That might alarm you  
> What someone said  
> And how it harmed you  
> Something you did  
> That failed to be charming  
> Things that you said are  
> Suddenly swarming  
> ~ Here Comes a Thought, Steven Universe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry guys. I did not mean to have this long of a hiatus (TvT). School wrecked me for a bit then it was finals and writer's block conked me over the head like a concrete block in a 90's cartoon. Anyway, I'll try to be better but I totally lost the outline I wrote out (don't worry I have all the big stuff in my head), so I'm kind of going to wing this a little. Hope it still ends up okay

“Do a girl a favor, bro,” Viney pleads as she leads one of the griffins out of the stall. “I’d do it for you!”

“I wouldn’t scream at the most influential family on the entire _ island _ ! What were you  _ thinking _ ?” Jerbo asks as he takes the griffin with one hand and flings the other up dramatically. Puddles ducks away from the incoming limb and lumbers away from the theatrical teenager. “It’s a  _ Blight! _ ”

“I know!” Viney hisses. “Which is why I need you to do me a solid and cover my shift with my dad. You wanted more hours to buy your plant thing, right?”

“I-” Jerbo stammers, “Well, _ yes _ . But this isn’t going to fix the problem!”

“I’m aware. I’m procrastinating in hopes she gets over it and I don’t get fired. Please,” Viney pleads with a pout to her lip. “ _ Pleasssseee _ -”

“Get down!” Jerbo hisses and shoves Viney’s shoulder. 

Puddles warbles in discontent as Viney falls into their stall against the griffin’s legs. The brunette’s rebuttal is lacing her tongue, but Jerbo’s harsh shushing makes her bite it back. Her back quietly thumps against the wooden wall of the stall when Emira’s voice sings through the air.

“Have you seen Viney?”

“V-Viney?” Jerbo echoes and Viney rubs an exasperated hand over her face. Someone needs to teach this boy how to lie. “I-I, no, not recently. In fact, she texted me saying she went home sick. I’m preparing to cover her shift right now.” Jerbo feels the smile on his mouth twitch, his cheeks starting to burn. 

Emira glances over at the griffin grooming its feathers in its stall and looks back at Jerbo. “She left without Puddles?”

“Headache. Y-you’re not supposed to fly with headaches because of air pressure change.”

Emira Blight raised one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows and hums, the bag hanging around her wrist banging against her hip. The heiress rolls her eyes and looks away from the boy, releasing him from her stare. She watches Jerbo deflate in relief in her peripheral. Titan, this boy is pathetic. Taking a calming breath, Emira starts forward and drops the bag into Jerbo’s hand. Shaking her head slightly when he stumbles trying to catch it and falls into the stall’s door.

“Yeah, sure,” the Blight states and rubs a hand behind her neck, throwing her braid over her shoulder so that it falls down her back. “When you see her, make sure she gets this,” Emira demands and she rubs at her arm with a hand. 

“Uh, yeah, of- of course,” Jerbo answers and peeks inside the bag, squinting at it as if it would explode on him. “Um, what is this?”

“She forgot a bag at the pet store,” Emira answers hastily and the riding helmet hung in the crook of her elbow bangs against the wall as she twists to leave. “I told that cashier friend of hers that I’d bring it to her.”

“Barcus?” Jerbo mutters aloud as the heiress strides out of the area. When her green braid leaves eyesight, he drops the bag in front of Viney’s form huddled against the stall door. “He could’ve just called one of us. The store’s not that out of the way.”

“I didn’t buy anything, dingus,” Viney retorts as she stands and stretches out the knot that started to burn in her back. As she shakes feeling back into her leg as dives a hand into the plastic bag. The smooth texture of a bag of treats grazes her fingers and crinkles as she feels around it. Viney brushes past a bottle and digs her fingers into the piece of paper that scratches at her skin. “This isn’t a receipt, is it?”

“Not unless Barcus switched to greeting cards. I’ll read it to you,” Jerbo offers and plucks the folded cardstock from Viney’s fingers. He’s silent for a moment, the only noise being the ruffling feathers of griffin wings. “It just says sorry.”

Viney takes the piece of paper back, running her thumb along the edge. Jerbo twists the watch around his wrist.

“Well if I’m taking your shift, I better get going. You owe me for this,” he adds jokingly, poking Viney in the shoulder.

“What, you want a thank you kiss?” Viney jabs back as she grabs Puddles’ bareback pad and straightens it onto position. 

“What? Ew, no.”

Viney barks out a laugh as she swings herself onto Puddles’ back.

…

The brunette can’t avoid the music forever and sulks into her father’s next class later that week. Her oblivious father hums happily to the radio he has pitfully plugged into the wall outlet. The poor thing is older than Viney herself and sitting on a wobbly little stool- it’s static tune echoing out through the arena like a dying breath. Viney’s shaking hands grip the reins a little tighter when the doors open and the students come filing in with a chorus of chatter and cooing griffins. The jaw Viney is unknowingly clenching starts to burn under the force of the girl’s anxiety, so the blind girl draws a lip between her teeth to worry at instead as the blurring colors separate a little as the others come closer. 

Emira’s green hair is a stark contrast to the browns and grays of the griffins around her.

The Blight passes by quickly with a quick hello to Viney’s dad. The man gives a boisterous laugh when Emira says she’ll try not to fall off this time and Viney winces to herself when she hears her dad heartily smack Emira on the shoulder in what is supposed to be a pat. The brunette’s not surprised when the heiress chokes on the air being forced out of her lungs from the force. He never did learn how much force he puts behind his hands- not after so many years of rowdy griffins and a rowdy daughter. Emira’s small gasps of air into her recovering lungs drowned out by his pleasantries.

“Dad, you almost broke her ribs,” Viney pipes up when her father almost does it again in farewell. 

“Huh?” Viney’s father lowers his hand at his daughter’s eye roll and a faint blush appears under his beard. “Whoops, sorry there kiddo.”

“It’s fine,” Emira insists with a charming tilt even though her voice is choking on half breaths of air. “I fell off Pinecone the other day. Nothing’s worse than that.” The Blight is silent for a moment, one hand petting the beak of Pinecone because the griffin is pecking at the girl’s expensive gloves. There’s an audible gulp before she turns slightly to where Viney is standing. “I… I gave that boy- uh that friend of yours the-the, uh. _ Fuck _ .”

That last word is whispered under Emira’s breath, barely audible if not for Viney’s good hearing, and Viney has to purse her lips not to laugh at the heiress’ incomposed sentences. She puts the Blight out of her misery.

“I got it.”

“Oh? Oh! Good, that’s good…” Em takes another staggered breath in and pulls on her griffin’s reins. “I better- class is going to start. I won’t keep you.”

“What’s she talking ‘bout?”

Viney jerks at the question and she hastily waves her dad’s inquiry away with a hand as the sound of retreating boots echoes in her ears. “I left a bag somewhere and she gave it to Jerbo.”

“Well, ain’t that sweet of her? Girl can barely ride, but she can sure be sweet. Go get Puddles in the air, I want ya to demonstrate some takeoffs.”

“Inside?” Viney asks because she doubts in the few days she hasn’t been there that her dad managed to get those greenhorns off the ground without them springing into the air like they got stabbed in the butt or crashing into the ground. “They’ll go through the ceiling.”

“Gotta give ‘em a chance, Viney. Let ‘em make mistakes and learn from it- no better way to learn not to touch the stove then gettin’ burnt.”

“This is why Ma banned you from cooking,” Viney states as she throws herself onto her griffin. “This is just like the time you let me try to do the steeple before I was ready and I fell and sprained my wrist.”

“And guess who listened and learned that I did know what your limits should be?” Viney’s dad shoots back as he ruffles Viney’s hair at the base. “Got to let ‘em fall outta the saddle a little, at least in the arena there’s less mud. I’m going over safe falling techniques.”

There was quite a bit of falling. Griffins going too vertical in their lift offs. Griffins being told to take off too fast and the lead her father held to keep someone from going through a ceiling beam pulling the beast to one side too quickly. A girl pulled the reins too hard and got thrown over the irritated mount's head and tumbles into the dust. But they learned. They kept the griffins more horizontal, kept the griffins at the right speed, and finally learned not to tug so hard at the reins.

Emira’s grace never did carry over into her riding. Viney could tell from Pinecone’s squawking that the heiress is still pulling the reins too hard. From her dad’s grumbling to himself she knew that Emira kept herself too stiff during takeoffs and didn’t lean close enough to get the right aerodynamics for a clean lift off the ground. From the constant thuds she hears, she can also guess that the heiress is sore in all the worst places.

“You didn’t have to buy the stuff,” Viney tells Emira as she’s passing by Pinecone’s stall. Emira’s the last one still untacking because Viney’s father wanted the Blight to get one takeoff that didn’t end with the green-haired girl eating a mouthful of dirt and kept her in the arena even when the others left to put their griffins back into the stalls. 

“I chased you out like a hunting dog,” the Blight responds with a clipped voice as she loosens the girth of the saddle and sinks under its weight. 

“I overre-”

“Don’t worry about it,” Emira interrupts as she goes around Viney with the saddle. “I thought about it- well I talked with Amity about it and she called me an asshole and she’s normally right so I’m gonna trust her on this.”

“I-” Viney starts and stops because the words won’t even form. She can’t say that Emira’s  _ wrong _ … the girl’s made Viney’s summer absolute hell. But Emira’s not the worst person to ever disgrace Viney’s life. “You…”

“Hey, it’s fine,” Emira insists. “I didn’t mean to harass you at work, so sorry. Really. I didn’t mean to bother you that much. And I’m sorry about how we met. After falling just a few feet off the ground moving at a snail’s pace… No wonder you hate me.”

“It’s… okay,” Viney replies as she watches Emira lift the saddle onto a peg. “And thanks… for not saying anything to my boss about me.”

“Why would I do that?” Emira asks as she runs her fingers through the loose hair falling into her face. “Geeze, I get that I’m a Blight, but I’m not that much of a bitch.”

“Wha- No! That’s not what I-”

Emira snickers slightly at the flushed expression. Cute little thing. “It’s fine, Viney. I promise not to bother you, ‘kay? The big bad Blight will leave you be,” Emira’s voice trills happily as she says it and the heiress even bumps Viney’s shoulder with her own as she leaves the tack room. A little hum fills the air as Em leaves Viney behind. 

Viney’s jaw is clenching again- a little painfully, and her tongue sits uncomfortably in her mouth. She wants to say something. There’s a little bit of guilt gnawing at the inside of the rider’s stomach as that sad little tune gets quieter with the heiress’ long strides. She wants to say something… because Emira really is a griffin’s beak to the face sometimes, but she’s not  _ hopeless _ . Once she put that act of hers away and just got on the Titan damned griffin and didn’t fight Viney on every little thing. Emira Blight is a pain in Viney’s neck, but she isn’t a wolf. Especially when she sulked away with sad little hums or stuttered over her words. Viney really wants to say something, but Emira’s voice is gone and Viney’s tongue is still an uncomfortable lead block in her mouth. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY IT'S SHORT! But it's a good cut off so I'll see you next time. Hopefully sometime this month. If I just dropped one shot AU's that I might expand on would anyone like that?
> 
> Emira may be a brat but she didn't mean to upset Viney so much. Viney was totally in the right to tell her off, but I've definitely told someone off and felt bad for snapping (TvT). Maybe I'm just a doormat, but I do think Viney would regret her word choice/tone once she realizes that Emira was just... trying her best


	8. Something There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "New and a bit alarming  
> Who'd have ever thought that this could be?  
> True, that he's no Prince Charming  
> But there's something in him that I simply didn't see"  
> ~ "Something There", Disney's Beauty and The Beast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know I used to be good at writing stuff that wasn't just dialogue and now I feel like I write way too much of it

“Where are you taking me?” Amity asks as Boscha’s car pulls into the parking lot of some obscure building.

“Would you rather be at that boring ass luncheon?” Boscha asks as she slams the car door closed with a hip and curls a piece of hair away from her face. 

“This place looks like a health code violation,” the Blight grumbles as she fixes her hair in the car mirror. “And it doesn’t have a drive through? Really?”

“Just get your ass in,” Boscha growls as she pulls the door to the rickety building open. “You’ve been a fucking pain for days and-”

“Emira is driving me up the damn wall!” Amity seethes as she plows past her friend and her loud voice covers up the dingy sound of the overhead bell. “It’s  _ one _ girl. She is going crazy over one-”

“Amity?”

Boscha smirks behind her hand when the heiress’ mouth snaps shut and her head jerks to the side like a puppet on a string. An automatic blush starts to form on Amity’s ears as the brunette clears the clog that formed in her throat. Boscha bites her cheek to keep face neutral, trying her best not to snicker at the reddening ears poking out from Amity’s hair. 

“Goin’ crazy over one girl, huh?” Boscha whispers into Amity’s ear as she pushes past. The rich girl plants her hands onto the counter and leans forward. Her lips meet Willow’s cheek as the girl refuses the kiss and Willow smiles as Boscha grumbles and drops onto a stool. 

“I’m working,” Willow chides.

“Uh, also I’m right here!” Luz exclaims and points at Boscha’s bored face. “And I do not get paid enough to watch you kanoodle with Willow! Save it for your fancy car.”

Boscha rolls her eyes and pulls out her wallet. She shoves a few bills into Luz’s face, “Get Blight a shake and, if I’m going to make out with my girlfriend, I’m not doing it in my fucking car like a dumb freshman.”

“Why would a freshman even have a car?” Luz grumbles as she takes the money. The cash register chimes as the drawer slides open and Luz hastily shoves the money into a random slot- she’ll organize the money before she leaves. “My point still stands.”

“Can we not discuss where I kiss my girlfriend, please?” Willow groans as she gets the milkshake glasses out of the cupboard. “What flavor do you want, Amity?”

“Oh yeah, Amity!” Luz squeals and scrambles over the counter. Her feet plant into the wooden floor and her body lunges forward, the barista grabbing the Blight’s hand and giving a big smile. “It’s been so long!”

“I s-saw you last week,” Amity stutters out as she snatches her hands back and crosses her arms, keeping them out of reach. 

“Yeah, but at the beginning and it’s the end of this week! That’s almost two weeks!” the Latina adds.

“I-I’ve been busy,” Amity insists as Luz corrals her onto a seat at the counter. 

“Amity, flavor?” Willow asks again as she slides a chocolate shake across to Boscha. 

There’s a glint in her eyes that makes Amity glance back at her again, but the glare off Willow’s glasses is all the heiress sees. Amity swallows, “Uh, vanilla’s fine.”

“Really?” Luz asks with a wrinkle to her nose as it scrunches up. 

“W-what’s wrong with vanilla?”

“It’s boring,” Boscha supplies with a wicked grin and she bursts out laughing at Amity’s reddening face. The laughs choke off when Willow smacks her girlfriend on the head with the paperback she keeps under the counter.

“So whatcha been up to, Ami?” Luz asks as she crawls back over the counter and the Latina turns when Boscha’s laughter starts up again. “What?”

“You look like an idiot, Luzer,” Boscha teases only to yelp when Amity kicks at the girl’s ankles. “Fuck Blight! What was that for?”

“For being you,” Amity answers as Luz passes her shake. Gold eyes blink when Luz goes to place a cherry on top of the toppling pile of whipped cream. “Oh, no thanks.” 

Luz shrugs, stickers her tongue out to balance the cherry on it. With an excited and muffled shout, she grabs Willow’s arm to show her the wobbling piece of fruit. Willow rolls her eyes, but a small smile graces her face as she tells Luz not to play with food. Amity kicks Boscha in the ankle again when she wiggles her eyebrows at Amity. The Blight focuses on the milkshake in front of her, fiddling with the metal straw as she hears Luz’s teeth snap close around the cherry.

“So what have you been up to?” Luz asks again as she swallows the cherry and plucks another one out of the jar. 

“Ah, family business stuff. We had a dinner the other day, and Dad had these people over a few days ago for some business thing. I showed the guy’s kids around the house and-”

“We’re supposed to be at a luncheon right now,” Boscha interrupts, “But it’s so  _ boring _ . Plus the twins are deciding to  _ behave _ for the first time in the history of  _ ever _ !”

“That’s just because Emira’s still pining over that girl. She should just get that poor soul out of her head, as if Mother would  _ ever _ . No point in even entertaining the idea. She’s usually over it by now,” Amity states with a wave of her hand.

“I don’t think that’s how crushes work…” Luz throws her hands up when Amity gives her a disgruntled look. “But I wish it didn’t mess with you so much.”

“With how Viney is handling the situation, it’s probably better if Emira does just lose interest,” Willow adds and her brow raises when Luz turns wide eyes on her. The girl crosses her arms across her chest. “What’s that look for?”

“Love! Or potential love!” Luz corrects and swiftly turns to Amity. The heiress breath catches around her milkshake at the sudden stare settling on her. “Don’t you want your sister to fall in love? Forbidden romance! Summer adventures! It’ll be just like the side plot of the third Azura book!”

Amity brings her hands to her mouth to catch her sigh (and also hide the small smile traitorously forming on her face). She slides her gold eyes over to Luz. “It’s not as simple as-”

“Mittens! How dare you ditch us?”

Amity groans as Edric’s voice bursts through the door, his arm entwined with his twin’s as he pulls Emira through the door. Em shoves him away once they both shove through the door, her hand rubbing where the doorknob stabbed her in the side. Amity glowers at the two, eyes narrowed and lips pulled back to show her teeth in a sneer as she fully turns on the stool.

“How the hell did you two idiots even find me?” she asks. “I didn’t even know where Boscha was taking me!”

Emira raises a brow and shakes her phone in her sister’s face, “We tracked your phone.”

“You what?” Amity hisses and pulls her sister’s wrist closer to her face. “How the-”

“Not important,” Edric states and waves the forming question away. “Where are we anyway? This place looks like we walked into the diner of a bad romcom.” Edric’s gold eyes lazily slid around the room at the… weird decorations before they went back to the staring staff. A glint makes his eyes twinkle for a second before he points a finger at Willow.

“You’re the girl that Boscha brought to the gala last year!” The Blight smile widens, even when Willow’s face purses into a strained smile. “Oh that was the best! There hadn’t been that much chaos since the Clawthorne drove a golf cart through the venue. Remember Em?” Edric turns to his sister, oblivious to her wide eyed look and pursed mouth. “This girl, she spilt the cake on-”

“Shut up, idiot,” Boscha hisses and twirls in her stool, eyes squinted into a glare. “It wasn’t funny to her.”

“Come on, Bosch. You can’t say it wasn’t the funniest thing you-”

“I will fucking break this glass over your head if-” Boscha’s growl is interrupted when Willow nudges her shoulder. The teenager’s glaring eyes meet Willows and Boscha grunts, turning away when Willow gives her a small smile. “Jeez, you Blights can’t read a room to save your own skin. No wonder that girl’s running from the hills.”

“Boscha!” Amity hisses and kicks at her friend’s shins again. 

“Been telling secrets have you, Mittens?” Emira asks, eyes glinting dangerously in the shop’s terrible lighting. Her unamused mouth settled into a firm line. “What’d we say about-”

The shop quiets as the bell to the building screeches as the door’s pushed open. Emira freezes up as a familiar head of brown hair pops through the threshold. The heiress gulps as Viney stumbles through the door, her griffin nudging her forward as its large head comes under her arm.

“Ack! Puddles,” Viney laughs and grabs the bag the griffin is trying to force into her hands. “I know- I know. Go sit girl.”

The griffin preens under the pet it’s given and ruffles its wings. It tilts its head and Emira swears that it’s staring her straight in the eyes. The creature blinks, shakes its fluffy head again, and turns around to settle into the empty parking spot.

Luz feels her mouth slide into an awkward line and hears Amity curse under her breath. The barista’s eyes travel between the blind girl that just stumbled through the door and the quickly paling Emira. As her eyes blink back to Viney they widen.

“Viney, there’s a chair… pulled out,” Luz trails off with a wince when the girl slams her leg into the chair and scrapes her torso against its pointed edges as she tries to catch herself.

Emira leaps, forgetting about her snitching sister to help the new guest off the offending chair. She pulls the girl to her feet. Viney rubs at her aching leg, one arm still wrapped around whoever helped her off the floor.

“You’re normally a little better at this, Luz,” Viney jokes as she unwinds herself from her helper’s arm. “Thanks.”

“Uh, n-no problem.” 

Viney’s brow furrows, the voice lingering in her ears. She squints her eyes, trying to focus the blurring colors and tilts her head to get the person into her peripherals where the blobs can solidify a little and the green separates from the dark colors of the Owl House coffee shop. 

“Emira Blight?” 

“Um, y-yup! It’s me,” Emira stammers out and straightens her posture a little. 

“Griffin girl!” Edric exclaims.

He rams into Viney from the side, sending her stumbling into Emira and gripping for purchase to stabilize herself. His sister catches her with a panicked grip, depressing under the weight and pushing the both of them back up. He ignores his twin’s glare and pushes his face in front of Viney’s. Viney blinks, the rapid movement blurring her already poor view. She stiffens her grip on Emira’s arms as the motion makes her flinch back to avoid collision and bumps into the heiress.

“Edric!” Em hisses as she glares at him over Viney’s shoulder. The small smirk he returns makes her teeth gnash against each other and a blush starts to crawl up her face at her brother’s wiggling eyebrows. “You’re such a child. Sorry, Viney.”

“It’s okay,” the brunette reassures as she takes a step back. She clears the dryness in her throat and turns toward Luz. “Get me a chocolate shake, will ya Luz?” Viney turns back Emira, “I was going to try to talk to you the next time I saw you anyway. This just means I don’t have to do it after two hours of that dreaded class.”

“I thought you live and breathe griffins Pige- uh, Viney.”

Viney smiles slightly at the correction and grabs Emira’s arm, “Griffins, not people. Get me to a table to talk with me for a second? Promise I won’t take up too much time.”

“Don’t worry about it!” Emira insists and pulls Viney across the room to a table that puts a good distance between the two girls and Em’s nosey brother. “I need time away from Edric anyway.” The heiress pulls out a chair and watches Viney slide onto it, making sure the wobbly looking chair didn’t break beneath her. “Um, what’s up?”

“I just,” Viney starts and fiddles with her fingers in her lap. “About the other day. I- I wanted to say thanks again. I- I was… You really didn’t have to give me the stuff and-”

“Hey,” Emira says softly to calm the stammering and flashes a grin that can’t be seen. “Relax, ‘kay? It was an apology for being such a bitch.”

“You weren’t a bitch!” Viney insists and at Em’s disbelieving silence she lets out a small breath of air, “Well, I realize you weren’t  _ trying _ to be one. Besides, I shouldn’t have snapped at you- on either occasion.”

“I totally deserved it,” Emira disagrees and chuckles a little pitifully, the sound dying off in a pitched whine. “I was a dumbass. Total idiot. I told you not to worry ‘bout it, this Blight is going to-”

“Stop that!” Viney demands.

Emira flinches at the words, gold eyes muddled with confusion as she takes in the other girl’s set jaw and furrowed brow. Em feels her own eyebrows furrow. What’d she do this time? With a slight tilt to her head, Emira watches Viney take a breath and release it in a huff. Viney’s freckles drop in time with her breathing and Emira watches the little marks. She blinks her vision toward Luz who cautiously approaches with the rider’s milkshake. Viney’s aggravated demeanor softens as the barista taps the table to show Viney her drink. The brunette gives her thanks and waits until the background buzz starts up again before restarting the conversation.

“You did this last time too. You’re not some sort of predator, so stop talking about yourself like you are.” Viney traces a finger down the frigid side of the glass. “A little unaware sometimes.”

“Only a little?”

Viney hums, neither confirming or denying, and sips on her shake. A little snort escapes her mouth as Emira huffs sarcastically. The sound makes Em stifle a laugh, but traces of it leak past her hand and Viney smiles. Air catches in Emira’s throat a little and she feels the blush on her neck crawl up a little higher toward her cheeks. 

“Seriously, don’t worry about offending me,” Emira says softly and looks away and out the window. “I’ll reel myself in. Don’t want to end up as the entitled brat on a social thread, harassing workers.” 

A buzz against the table snaps Emira up. Her phone vibrates against the wooden surface, dancing on the tabletop and disrupting the air with its noise. Emira purses her lips in annoyance as she grabs it. Her eyes flicker from the screen to her siblings, both of them motioning to their watches and eyeing the door. Amity’s feet tap against the footstep of the stool anxiously. Em sighs and stands.

“Duty calls,” Emira sighs out as her chair scrapes loudly against the floor. “Sorry, Angel- Viney. Shit. By the Titan, I suck at this. Bye Viney.”

Edric makes some obnoxious farewell to Viney on his way out. He chokes on his own words when the solid impact of bone to rib sounds and Emira’s voice quickly cuts through her brother’s nonsense. Another burst of laughter leaves Viney as she hears them stumble through the door. Those two aren’t the worst two in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, lookey here Emira. Having a normal conversation with someone pays off sometimes
> 
> Also: for those of you who care, I somehow got an A in that engr class I was stressed over and made the president's list at my college!


End file.
